


blood // water

by sourpastels



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Killing Game, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Human K1-B0 (Dangan Ronpa), Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multi, No Monokubs Because I Said So, Nonbinary Shinguji Korekiyo, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Game Personalities (New Dangan Ronpa V3), Recovery, Slow Burn, new motives new murders new victims new culprits, pre-game personalities but they’re (hopefully)well rounded and not just murder-obsessed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:02:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 92,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21757996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourpastels/pseuds/sourpastels
Summary: Two highschool nobodies trapped in a school neither of them attend. There has to be a reason for it. Deep inside himself, he can feel that there’s a reason. He just….can’t reach it. His head is walls and empty spaces and he wants to curse himself for being so useless.Or: It's the 53rd season, and Team Danganronpa decides it's time to make some changes to the formula.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Amami Rantaro & Shirogane Tsumugi, Akamatsu Kaede/Shirogane Tsumugi, Chabashira Tenko/Yumeno Himiko, Gokuhara Gonta & Hoshi Ryoma, Gokuhara Gonta & Hoshi Ryoma & Shinguji Korekiyo, Harukawa Maki/Yonaga Angie, Iruma Miu & Tojo Kirumi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 77
Kudos: 313





	1. Prologue: C grade students

**Author's Note:**

> If you recognise this prologue (and chapter one when I post that) that's because it's a repost of a work I began then deleted earlier this year as I thought I'd never continue it. However, now that my life has calmed down again I realised I'm proud of all I had planned for this work and I'm gonna see it through even though the fandom is pretty much dead and updates will probably be sporadic.

“Order from the higher-ups.”

The voice and the manila folder being waved in her face grab her attention. She hadn’t even noticed someone enter the room, too wrapped up adding the finishing touches to her masterpiece. 

She snatches the folder from his hands and opens it, scanning the first page. 

Then she reads it again.

And again. 

No. This can’t be happening. It’s some insomnia-induced fever dream. It’s a joke being played on her. It’s a plot suggestion an obsessed fan snuck under her door again.

She reads the words ten, twenty, fifty times, but they don’t change. It’s there, in front of her in black and white, signed by the head of Team Danganronpa themselves. 

“This...this can't be happening…” she whispers, cradling her head in her hands. 

The man winces at her in sympathy. She doesn’t even know his name, yet here she is breaking down in front of him.

Is this despair? After all these years does she finally, _finally_ know how it feels?

She hates it. Despair is acrid on her tongue and icy cold through her veins. Realising she hates it...perhaps that’s the biggest despair of all. 

“I’m sorry, Shirogane-san. I’m just the delivery guy.”

Something about that statement drives her crazy. The delivery guy...if this was danganronpa she’d have him run door to door, arms full of packages of bombs, having to deliver each one in a desperate attempt to stop them blowing him to nothing but scraps of flesh and bone. Yes, that sounds like a fitting execution. 

Oh god, her executions. Her _masterpiece_ . The thing she’s been writing down on napkin scraps and post-it notes until she finally climbed up the ranks and was given the chance to make her dream a reality (of sorts). Her season...all based around the idea of super high school level talents...like it _should_ be...all reduced to unusable garbage.

“They can’t really expect to enact this this season, can they?” she laughs nervously. “The plotline for this season is already all written out. The characters are set in stone. The participants are waiting to enter in just two weeks!”

The delivery man shakes his head. “The participants stay the same. Everything else...well, i’m sure a smart girl like you can figure it out.”

With that, he leaves, probably not wanting to get in the way of her misplaced ire any longer.

A smart girl…

Right. She can do this.

She has no other choice.

* * *

Darkness. 

That’s all he can see. Enough darkness that he’s floating in it. It’s strangely peaceful, in a way. If he hadn’t just woken up, he might think he was sleeping. 

A sudden rattling noise interrupts his peace. He reaches out for the source of it, more on instinct than anything, and cool metal meets his fingers.

Metal?

He finally opens his eyes, only to find there was little point. The darkness encroaches on him either way. But now three little slats of light break up the monotony.

He reaches towards them and pushes. 

He crashes onto the floor.

Pain. More noise. This time a scream. 

Have his thoughts always been so brief? His mind feels heavy, thick with cotton and tar yet...somehow lighter than it should be.

He pushes himself to his feet. The first thing he notices is he’s in a classroom. The second is that what he just tumbled out of is a locker. The third is the girl staring at him with shock in her eyes. 

The classroom and locker he can work out later. Things and places are a lot less time-reliant than people. 

“Who are you? Are you with them?” He asks.

The girl drops her tense figure, just slightly, like she’s no longer thinking about attacking him on sight...that’s always good.

She shakes her head, ruffled blonde hair grazing over her shoulders. She looks to be about his age, both judging from her face and the school uniform she’s wearing. Is this her school? No, a closer look makes it clear that this place is long abandoned.

“Who are ‘they’?” She asks.

“The people who kidnapped me.”

The memory comes back to him at the same time the words leave his mouth. The last thing he remembers is his feet slamming against harsh asphalt, and then strong hands with harsh nails wrapping around his torso. He’s in the car just long enough to register the smell of new leather and figures filling the other seats before a cloth is wrapped over his nose and he loses consciousness.

“Where is this place? What do you want from me?”

Is he going to die? Like this? A no-name victim to an equally unnamed captor?

“Hey, calm down. What’s your name?” She asks. 

“Huh?!” 

Is she psychic? No, he’s being ridiculous. She probably just has good intuition.

“Saihara Shuichi,” he answers, a beat later than he should. 

“My name’s Akamatsu Kaede. Saihara-kun, shut up.”

He freezes. Did he do something to upset her? He quickly files back through his mental transcript of their conversation. Maybe she wasn’t too happy of being accused of kidnapping? But can she really blame him? After all, he did wake up in the locker of a school that has plants growing in the corners and barbed wire on the windows. It’s a wonder she wasn’t thinking the same thing about him. Or maybe that’s it, and Akamatsu doesn’t trust him at all. Maybe she’s planning to catch him off-guard and kill him in an attempt to escape. Or maybe—

“I was kidnapped too.” Her voice breaks through his spiralling thoughts.

Akamatsu tells him what she remembers. It sounds just like what happened to him. Whoever these kidnappers are, they seem to know what they’re doing.

“The same thing happened to me, but why? My family doesn’t have a lot of money. I’m just an ordinary high school student.” _I’m nobody_ , he doesn’t say. “Why take me?”

“Same here.” Akamatsu frowns. “I’m just a normal high school girl. And why a school of all places? Why take us here?”

Two highschool nobodies trapped in a school neither of them attend. There has to be a reason for it. Deep inside himself, he can feel that there’s a reason. He just….can’t reach it. His head is walls and empty spaces and he wants to curse himself for being so useless.

“Why indeed?” Saihara asks, more to himself than Akamatsu. If his brain won’t do what he wants, he’ll just have to make it. After all, it’s how he’s gotten through life up until this point. “And where exactly are we?”

He glances around the classroom again, almost begging himself to recognise it. If he knows where they are, it will be a hell of a lot easier to get back out. In the end, all that he finds is frustration. There’s an LED screen glowing neon green where he expects...what _does_ he expect? What does his high school look like? He’s seen it almost everyday for the past year, he should know this...he should _know_ this. So why is picturing it like trying to capture smoke? Why...why is this happening...what’s wrong with him…

“I’m sorry for yelling at you, Saihara-kun.” Akamatsu talks and all his thoughts slip from his mind, becoming meaningless ripples in the ocean. “But we have to calm down in situations like these, okay?”

Right. Akamatsu is right. He needs to be calm. He can’t think when he’s not calm. If he can’t think then he can’t work out an escape plan.

Somewhere in his mind, a voice tells him to breathe in for four seconds, and out for seven. He does this a few times until he feels at least slightly better. 

“You’re right, me panicking won't help anything. I’m sorry.” 

Akamatsu seems calm, confused, but calm. How can she be like that? Did she just wake up expecting something horrible to happen?...Maybe, he thinks, looking at her again now that he can finally think straight. She’s not as panicked as him, for whatever reason, but there’s still clear signs of nerves in the way she’s niggling her thumbnail between her teeth and the way she still has one eye trained on him.

“Still, isn’t this place just _weird?_ ” He can’t help but say. He wants to know he’s not alone here. That he’s not just working himself up over nothing. “I have this bad feeling we’re stuck in a terrible — no — a horrific situation.”

“A horrific situation…” Akamatsu repeats to herself in a murmur. Suddenly, it appears as if his words had the opposite of their intended effect, because she jumps up with renewed vigour and a determined expression. “Right now, we need to leave! We need to run away! Let’s call for help.”

He wants to tell her no. That running out there blind could be a death sentence. They should stay in this classroom for now and see what they can find. The LED screen must run on some kind of computer, right? Couldn’t they try and use that to call for help before they willingly put themselves in harms way. 

But he can’t find it in himself to get the words out, so he reluctantly helps Akamatsu in her mission to break down the door with their bodies. 

He’s a lightweight guy, he’s always known this, bruises easily too. Akamatsu might be hiding some serious muscle under her shirt though, because after just a few tries the door flies open with a resounding _slam_ . He braces himself, heart seizing up with fear as he waits for something, _anything_ to attack them.

Nothing greets them but an empty hallway. It’s anticlimactic in the worst way. At least if something had happened, they’d have nothing to fear anymore. Now, the fear lingers within them, constantly waiting for _something_. Even Akamatsu, who was so brave moments before she left the classroom, hesitates before taking the next step over the threshold of the door and into the hallway itself.

Then, she pushes him over it as well and says “Come on, scaredy-cat. Let’s explore.”

The air in the hall is thick, almost humid, His feet get tangled in grass and stems as he walks close behind Akamatsu. He’s following her despite knowing she has no idea where they’re going either, or what they’re looking for other than a big sign saying ‘exit here’.

...Maybe it would help if they could actually _see_ outside. He gestures Akamatsu over to one of the windows lining the walls. She raises an eyebrow at him, then brightens considerably when she seems to get what he’s hinting at. 

It isn’t easy to peek through the gaps in the barbed wire, but after a moment he can make out the ground. It doesn’t look like anything, just grass and the barest hint of a pathway.

“That pathway should lead us out, right?” Akamatsu says.

He can’t help but feel it won’t be that easy.

They keep walking and the hallway yields nothing except locked classroom doors, one of which is sharp and slanted, painted in pink with a piano pattern. They spend a moment trying to break into that one, but it’s sturdier than the one for the classroom they woke up in and they get nothing out of their endeavour but a dull pain in their shoulders.

It’s hopeless. It’s all...so...hopel—

“Hi! Oh my god are you new people? Were you kidnapped too? Or...were you the ones that kidnapped me?”

A girl with long blue hair is suddenly in his face, staring down him and Akamatsu like they’re a puzzle to be solved. 

“Uh...hi?” he says awkwardly.

“Hi! I just want to say that my parents aren’t rich, comfortable, yes, but not enough so for a ransom. If you kidnapped me for...other reasons...then, well, I know i'm pretty but i’m gonna tell you straight out I don’t bat for your team and I carry pepper spray.”

“We didn’t kidnap you,” Akamatsu sighs.”And since you asked I’m guessing you didn’t kidnap us either. Can you tell us your name?”

The girl turns to face Akamatsu and Saihara let’s out a breath of relief.

“Ah, my name is Shirogane Tsumugi. You?”

“Akamatsu Kaede. This is Saihara Shuichi. I don’t suppose you’ve found a way out of here?”

“Uh, no…to be honest, I woke up by this dragon statue and haven’t moved an inch since. I’ve been looking at it long enough i’m starting to think it’s even weirder than the rest of this place. But...it’s scary to move around on my own in a situation like this, you know?”

Saihara nods in sympathy. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Akamatsu, he feels like he probably would have just curled up on the floor of the locker until someone came and found him.

“Well, I guess you’re with us now, Shirogane-san. Pull your weight in finding us a way out of here and we won’t have a problem.”

Shirogane giggles. “Anything for a pretty girl like you, Akamatsu-san.”

Their party grows from two to three. Saihara finds a familiar feeling coiling in his gut, a lighter taste of what fuelled his near-breakdown in the classroom earlier. Luckily, Shirogane seems more than happy to engage herself and Akamatsu in conversation, letting him follow along silently.

“Oh, is this a school? Don’t you think that’s kind of weird? The grass is overgrown, and it still seems like there’s no exit. Not to mention we’re the only humans...Is this okay? Are we going to be okay?” Shirogane rambles. 

Akamatsu falls silent.

“Ah, are you okay, Akamatsu-san? Did you realise something?” Saihara asks.

Akamatsu looks at him over Shurigane’s head which is now buried in her shoulder and mouths “She’s kinda sexy when she’s like this.”

He regrets asking. 

“Oh! A bathroom! Thank god!” Shirogane exclaims as both a pink and blue door come into view. “Akamatsu-san...would you mind…?”

“Yeah, I can come with you, I guess.” Akamatsu nods. “Saihara, do you want to check the boys bathroom while we’re in there? There might be someone in there, since obviously it turns out we aren’t the only two kidnapped people here.”

Saihara hesitates, but nods. “Uh. Sure.”

Akamatsu disappears into the bathroom, Shirogane following on her heels.

That leaves Saihara alone for the first time since he woke up in that locker. Suddenly, this mysterious school seems even bigger. He shouldn’t feel so lost without Akamatsu by his side. He’s been on his own for most of his life. He should be used to it. But this wasn’t like any day in his life that had passed before, and in this strange situation he’d quickly found himself relying on Akamatsu’s determination and company.

That doesn’t matter. As soon as they find the exit, he’ll probably never see Akamatsu again. He needs to get used to coping alone again, and fast.

With that thought in mind, he pushes the door to the boy’s bathroom open.

He’s almost expecting no one to be in there, like when they first opened the door to the hallway. That’s why he almost jumps when he sees a boy standing at the sink, fixing his goatee in the mirror.

The boy must have heard him enter, or maybe he sees him in the mirror, because he turns to Saihara quickly. The first thing he notices is that the boy is taller than him, gelled up purple hair only adding to his height. Saihara suddenly feels cornered, like this is a bad teen movie and he’s about to get beaten up in the bathroom. The feeling isn’t helped any as the boy stalks towards him, leaning too close in his personal space as he looks him up and down.

Saihara flinches and closes his eyes as the boy swings out his arm.

“What’s up, man! I’m Momota Kaito!”

Saihara opens his eyes again to find the man smiling at him, more cocky than friendly, but still better than what he was expecting. He also realises that he was moving his arm to hold it out for a handshake.

“S-Saihara Shuichi.”

“Nice to meet ya, Saihara-kun! I’d accuse you of kidnapping me, but honestly, you look too scrawny to handle that job, no offence. So, kidnapped too?”

“Uh-huh.” Saihara nods, still lost for words. This school may be huge but this bathroom is tiny, and Momota is still too close.

“Well, even if you’re scrawny that means you’re probably smart. Come on! Let’s go find an exit and get the hell out of here!” Momota grins, like this is just a challenge to overcome and not a potentially life-or-death situation.

Momota strolls out the bathroom and Saihara is left to follow. Thankfully, Akamatsu and Shirogane are already waiting for them. 

“Oh! So you _did_ find a stray!” Shirogane claps. 

“That’s me!” Momota shoots her a thumbs-up. “I’m gonna find an exit and get us all out of here, so come on!”

Momota starts walking in brisk steps and immediately heads through an archway. The rest of them follow wordlessly, shooting nervous looks between each other.

The rest of the floor seems to be much of the same, classrooms and plants. Momota walks down the hall with a sense of purpose Saihara is struggling to relate to.

Before Momota can get them too lost, they run into a guy with green hair and an easygoing aura around him. Behind him is a short man with sandy hair and a very tall person with sleek dark hair flowing down their back.

“So, I guess there’s even more of us after all.” The first guy says.

“It would seem so,” Kaede sighs in agreement. “Ugh, why are there so many of us? These kidnappers get more rotten by the minute.”

“I have a theory about that. Well...I wouldn’t call it a theory yet, more of a hunch. Oh, the names Amami Rantarou by the way. This is Hoshi Ryoma and Shinguuji Korekiyo. We’re not suspicious guys, we promise.”

“Do you three know each other?”

“Alas, that is not the case. Amami-kun here found me standing around by the south door and I felt it valuable to follow him around. Hoshi-kun was with him when we made our acquaintance. I’m afraid I did not ask where he was...ahhh...acquired.”

“Game room. Down in the basement.” Hoshi nods bluntly.

“There’s a basement? How big _is_ this school?” Akamatsu asks at the same time Momota says “Aw, sick. Did they have Super Mario Kart?”

Amami ignores both their questions. “Like I said, we’re not suspicious guys. With that in mind, can I ask you all something? Have you ever heard of—“

“What the hell is going on out here?” A voice interrupts them. All eyes immediately swivel to the source of it, finding a girl in a school uniform yet again different to all their own.

“Why are you all staring at me?” She demands. “You wanna look at my boobs, don’t ya? Well fuck off. No one looks...not for free, anyway.”

“We were just looking to see who spoke,” Amami says calmly. “Have you been in that warehouse this whole time?”

“Yeah. Some us were trying to take a nap, but there’s a bunch of bitches out here running their mouths.”

“I take it we’re the bitches.” Amami nods. “So what does that make you?”

“Iruma Miu. You guys all wake up in this wack funhouse attraction too? I can’t even remember how I got here. What the hell did I drink last night?” Iruma laughs.

“None of us can remember how we got here.” Akamatsu rolls her eyes. “Either we were knocked out cold the whole time or we straight up have amnesia.”

“It’s amnesia,” Hoshi says bluntly. “And some us have it more than others.”

“What?” Saihara blinks, taken aback. He’d been working off the theory their memory loss was merely due to unconsciousness. After all, isn’t an entire group of people getting amnesia a bit of a stretch?

“Ah, that would be a dig at me,” Amami sighs. “It appears I've forgotten a bit more than everyone else…”

“How much?”

“My whole life.” For a moment, his expression is dark and empty as the words leave his mouth, then in a blink he’s back to his normal, easygoing self.

Gasps ring out around the group. His whole life? Saihara was hoping he’d lost a few hours at best, and was erring on a few days for a worst case scenario. But if Amami has forgotten his entire life...then had the rest of them really lost as little time as they think?

“I guess it really is just me then,” Amami laments. “Well, yeah, it seems I've forgotten my entire life. The only reason I even know my name is because it was stitched onto my school bag. Still, doesn’t make me suspicious, right?”

No one answers.

“Of course not. It’s hardly your fault you’ve forgotten. And maybe it’s just shock and it will all come flooding back soon.” Saihara says, though it’s more because he can’t handle the awkward air than that he actually believes it.

“I hope so.” Amami nods. “Well, let’s keep going. We should check out the cafeteria over there.”

That’s when Saihara realises they’re right across from a sign reading ”Dining hall”. The sight of it makes Saihara realise he has no idea when he last ate. Who can say how long he was out cold in that locker for? He doesn’t _feel_ hungry, but that could just as easily be because of nerves and adrenaline as a full stomach.

Two girls are sat in the dining hall. The small one with red-hair sits cross-legged on the table while a girl with dark pigtails faces her on a chair. They seem engrossed in conversation. Saihara feels a little awkward interrupting them. No one else seems to have such qualms.

“You ladies all alone here?” Momota asks.

The one with dark hair turns to them, eyes narrowed into a glare that Saihara is glad isn’t being levelled on him.

“I mean—“ Momota holds his hands up in the universal sign for surrender. “Have you seen any other kidnappees? Or kidnappers, for that matter.”

“We haven’t seen anyone.” The girl on the table says brightly, waving both her hands. “Hi, I’m Yumeno Himiko! This is Chabashira Tenko.”(Chabashira mutters something that sounds like “please don’t introduce Tenko to degenerate males without her permission” under her breath). “We woke up in the cafeteria then just got talking, and we haven’t seen anyone else.”

After they make their introductions Yumeno seems more than happy to continue their search for an exit with them, and Chabashira doesn’t decline either.

Walking through the hallways with a big crowd like this has a much different feeling than when it was just him and Akamatsu. It makes the halls feel less eerie. If Saihara closed his eyes, he could almost imagine they were all classmates rushing to their lesson after the bell.

“‘South’? Is that the exit?”

Instead, they were strangers rushing for a way out of this place.

“Shinguuji...san?” Saihara asks.

"Ah, it is quite alright to simply refer to me by my surname."

Saihara nods before continuing. “You were by this door when Amami-kun found you, weren’t you? Do you know where this door leads?” 

“Kukukuku...why don’t you see for yourself?”

Saihara doesn’t want to argue with them, mainly because there’s this eerie aura floating around them that almost makes them seem downright creepy.

He can’t stop the trepidation in his stomach as he places his hands on the heavy wood and _pushes_ . There’s luscious greenery, signposting that this is _outside_ , _they made it_ , _it’s all okay…_ and then there’s a thick wall of glass crushing his dreams.

“What the hell is that?!” Momota exclaims from somewhere in the crowd.

“It’s...It’s” Saihara doesn’t know. He can only see sky, not a way out, or even anything signposting where they are. But at the same time, he does know; it’s their prison.

“It’s a damn big cage, stop your yelling.”

“Hey, who the fuck do you—“ Momota stops when he turns and finds himself greeted by a thousand pounds of pure muscle stuffed into a blue school uniform. If Saihara looks hard enough, he thinks he’d be able to see the life flashing before Momota’s eyes.

“Sorry,” the monster in front of them winces suddenly. “Didn’t mean to yell. I’m kind of stressed, as you can imagine. The name is Gokuhara Gonta.”

Gokuhara Gonta bows to them, thick tangles of hair falling over his face as he does. Still shell-shocked, Momota offers him a shaky salute while the rest of them bow.

“You don’t seem surprised to see us here, Gokuhara-kun.” Saihara observes.

“Huh? Oh, you’re not the first other people i’ve seen. There’s three girls and two boys down in the courtyard. I just...wanted some space.” The way he says that is heavy, like there’s a story to tell there, but it’s the last thing Saihara’s concerned about.

“Well, we’ll probably run into them then. We’re searching for a way out.” Amami shrugs. “Unless you wanna come with?”

Gokuhara shakes his head.

“Kukuku...I look forward to seeing who else has been trapped in this place. Perhaps they will have something of import to offer.”

They’re about to check out a building claiming to be a dormitory when the sound of screaming reaches them from what Saihara presumes is the courtyard Gokuhara mentioned earlier. His first instinct is to pause and wait this out. Who knows what’s happening down there? What if it’s dangerous? What if it’s pointless? Or both?

Half the group has already run off to the bottom of the stairs.

This seems to be becoming a theme.

He’s left with Amami, Hoshi, and Iruma. Iruma is staring at her nails. Hoshi looks unphased. Saihara decides to stick with Amami.

“Do you think it’s the other people who have been kidnapped?”

“Seems the most likely option.” Amami nods. “But I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

“Are you sure you want to go down there?”

“Why not? It’s an adventure.” 

Saihara doesn’t find that very convincing.

“Come on, we’ll be able to see what’s going on once we’re halfway down the stairs. If it looks like trouble, there’s plenty of time to run back up.”

Saihara nods. “I guess you’re right.”

He doesn’t glance back towards Hoshi or Iruma. He gets the feeling that if they want to follow, then they will.

He takes the right set of stairs while Amami takes the left. Under the screaming, their footsteps can’t be heard. Slowly, a scene comes into view: A rather plain looking courtyard, the only things of note being another weird statue, a small building a little off to the side, a large red door at the back, and the crowd of people.

As they get closer, Saihara can actually make out voices in the chaos. The loudest one is a woman screaming, practically hysteric. She’s a girl he hasn’t seen before, with hair in white twintails. There’s another unfamiliar girl with her, seemingly trying to calm her down. 

“I’m sorry, but could you all move back. She needs space,” the second girl says. 

Surprisingly, everyone does, leaving to search around what’s left of the courtyard, though probably still listening in. 

“Hey, what’s your name?” She whispers softly, running her hand across the crying girl’s back in soothing motions. 

“A— Angie,” the other girl hiccups. "W-wait, Yonaga Angie, bur A-Angie prefers her given name."

“Nice to meet you, Angie-san. I’m Harukawa Maki. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Angie nods, a small movement, almost imperceptible from where Saihara is standing. “Angie...Angie...thought this was...she just woke up here and...you aren’t...with them, right?”

“I don’t know who ‘them’ is, so I can assure i’m not. I woke up here just like you. I don’t know what’s going on, but...I’ll look after you, okay? I promise nothing bad will happen to you.”

Angie still has tears running down her face. Maybe it’s not a nice thing to think about a person he hasn’t even met yet, but she’s an ugly crier. Her eyes are bloodshot, tears mingle with snot on her face, and her whole body slumps like she’s so, so tired.

“...Okay. As long as...as long as we’re not there, then it’s okay.”

If he was still on the stairs, Saihara might not have heard Angie’s mumblings, but after deeming she’s not a threat he’d found himself moving closer, not that either girl seems to have noticed him yet.

Harukawa offers Angie her hand and helps her up off the ground. Saihara decides to forget introducing himself for now and edges around them instead.

“Well, that was dramatic.” The voice comes from a girl sitting on the grass, staining her long dark skirt. She snorts, looking at Saihara like they’re old friends. “And who might you be?”

“Uhh...Saihara Shuichi.”

“Well, Saihara Shuichi. Welcome to the cool kids corner. I’m Toujou Kirumi.”

“The cool kids corner” is made up of three people. Toujou Kirumi, as she’d just introduced herself, sits on one side of the big red door. On the other side is a boy with shocking white hair partially covered under a beret, who’s watching the person in the middle with an almost unusual level of curiosity. 

The person in the middle...Saihara can only see waves of purple hair since the figure has his back turned to him. They seem to be doing _something_ to the door in front of them and he immediately tries to crane over their shoulder to see what it is.

“What? You never seen a guy pick a lock before?” They ask. 

Saihara blinks. “...No?”

“Oh. That sounds boring. Well, now you have, yay!”

Saihara chooses not to comment on that. “Do you think that’s the way out?”

Saihara knows it probably isn’t. The cage clearly extends to behind the door. 

“Nope. I do have eyes. But it’s either this way or back into that fake school.”

He has a point.

“How long do you think it will take you to pick the lock...uhh…??”

“Ouma Kokichi.” As he says that, a strange smile curves on his lips despite one of the lockpicks still clenched between his teeth. 

“...Is that your real name?”

‘Ouma’ laughs. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Before Saihara can say anything else, the courtyard is overrun with a booming, unfamiliar sound. 

'Bing Bong Bing Bong.' An alarm, then a voice. The voice sends a shiver down Saihara’s spine for reasons he doesn’t have the time to analyse. “Will all students please gather in the gym immediately!”

It cuts off as soon as it starts, and then they’re left in silence. Everyone is frozen. 

Momota breaks it. “Okay. So, anybody know where the fuck the gym is?”

“...You can’t seriously be thinking about going.” Chabashira mutters.

“Why not? What if going there is what gets us out of here?!” Momota argues. 

Yet more people start to speak, weighing in with their opinions. Thankfully, Akamatsu gets them to quieten down with a sharp whistle. 

“Look, I’m not sure we have a choice. If we don’t go in there then whoever that was can just come out here. I think maybe it’s better if we go, there’s obviously not a way out around here anyway.”

“What about that door?” Yumeno asks, a confused frown on her face. 

“I thought so too, at first. But a closer look tells me otherwise. So...who’s in agreement about coming to the gym with me?”

No one really says yes, but no one says no either. Akamatsu seems to count that as a win.

“I still don’t know where the fuck that is,” Momota grumbles as they start to walk. 

“First floor.” Ouma pipes up from the back of the crowd. “Did none of you check your maps?”

“...We have maps?”

This leads to a pause in their journey where Ouma drags what appears to be a tablet computer out of his pocket, waving it around like they should all know what it is. Saihara _does_ find one in his own pocket, and though he had been absently aware of the weight he’d found no time to check what the source was. The computers read “Monopad” on the back, which is a brand Saihara is pretty sure he’s never heard of. On it are six different icons, though most of them are grayed out and don’t react when he presses them. Once they’ve all checked the map, they start walking again, though some of the group seem to still be searching the monopads for something or other while they walk. 

Again, Saihara finds himself next to Akamatsu. She shoots him a smile when she sees it’s him and says “This is pretty fucked up, huh?”

He nods in agreement and hopes it’s enough.

When they enter the gym, they don’t find anyone else. Saihara doesn’t know if that’s a good or bad thing yet. 

‘ _At least it’s not more students_ ,” he thinks as bodies push past him. He can’t remember the last time he was around this many people, though that may not be saying much, and even now it’s putting him on edge.

“What the hell is this? Some kinda joke?!” Iruma yells at the empty air of the plain, ordinary gym. Then, she turns on her heel and faces them. “If this is a joke...or a trap that one of you set up, then fucking come clean right now!”

“Yeah, I’m sure that will work.” Hoshi drawls.

Iruma scowls. “The fuck did you just say to me, you little punk?”

Though Iruma is possibly double his size, Hoshi doesn’t back down against her glare. Instead, he lets out a slight chuckle.

“You heard me.”

“From all the way down there? Pfft, think again.”

Hoshi’s gaze turns from impassive to icy. “Unless you’re looking for a fight, then don’t push your luck.”

“Oh, are you gonna hit me? I guess it’s true what they say: the quiet ones are always the kinkiest.”

“Children, children, fighting on the first day of class? That just won’t do! That’s meant to come later!”

The voice that interrupts the brewing argument is the same one they heard earlier in the courtyard, but looking around for the source, Saihara finds nothing. 

“Who is it? Who’s there?” Iruma demands, sounding spooked for the first time since they met. 

“Upupu.”

“What the hell do you want from us?” Hoshi demands.

“Upupu.”

“Show yourself, coward!” Momota demands. 

“Upupu. Well, if you insist!”

There’s a blur of black and white movement from on the stage. Whatever it is shoots up into the air, then descends onto the platform with a pair of angels wings. It’s not an angel. It’s not even a person. It’s…

"...Is that a fucking teddy bear?” Momota scratches his scalp. 

“To answer your questions in order. What I want from you is very simple. I’m not a teddy bear, I’m Monokuma! And Monokuma is the headmaster for the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles.”

“That wasn’t in order at all,” Shirogane mutters.

“Everyone else sees the talking bear, right?” Gokuhara cages. 

“The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles?” Saihara asks.

“Yes! This is the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles! A school specifically built for you sixteen students.” The bear responds. 

“...And what’s gifted about us?” Saihara asks. 

He’s never been gifted. He pulled decent enough grades, but nothing to show off about. Admittedly, it wasn’t like he tried to study. He’d always been picked last for sports teams. His creative skills extended to doodles and...his head started hurting again. 

“Oh, absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. You are all ordinary high school students. Completely normal and downright boring. You probably loiter in stores and sleep through your alarms and wash your sheets in the middle of the night after those embarrassing dreams.”

“Huh?” Saihara cocks his head. None of this makes any...why is he talking to a bear...his head…

“Enough about that,” Akamatsu cuts in. “You said the reason you gathered us here was simple. What is that reason?”

“I’m your headmaster! I have to get know my students...especially as you’ll be spending the rest of your lives here.”

There’s no word for the tremor that passes through the room as those words leave the bear’s mouth. Saihara can feel it from every corner...the fear, the longing...the despair. No one moves, as robotic as the bear in front of them must be, but he can tell that everyone wants to _run_.

“The rest of our lives?” The voice that speaks up is quiet, and not one that Saihara has ever heard before. Process of elimination places it as belonging to the white-haired boy who never introduced himself.

That quiet question is the spark that begins the eruption of protest around the room.

“What the fuck do you mean the rest of our lives?”

“You can’t seriously expect this crazy shit to work? I have a family! They’ll be looking for me!”

“There has to be a way out of here!”

The bear cocks it’s head to the side, mechanical paw reaching up to cover it’s chin. “A way out, you say? Well, of course there’s a way out!”

“There is?” Akamatsu asks, sounding hopeful and suspicious all at once.

“Yeah! If you want to get out all you have to do...is kill each other.”

“K-K— Kill?” Chabashira’s voice rings out. Not far from her, Angie has begun shaking again.

“Yep!” Monokuma replies, downright cheery.

“And why the fuck shouldn’t we just kill you instead?!” Momota grunts, already curling his hands into fists and moving towards the bear’s podium.

“...Geez, this again…” Monokuma shakes its head. “There’s three reasons you shouldn’t, and I’m going to say them real slow to get it into that idiotic, oh so average head of yours.”

“Reason one: violence against the headmaster is strictly against the school rules, a tab which will now be made accessible on your monopads!”

An electronic beep comes from all their pockets.

“Reason two: If you _do_ attempt violence against headmaster Monokuma, you _will_ be brutally obliterated by The Exisals.”

“...Exisals?” Saihara asks.

“Oops, guess we skipped over that scene! Well, feast your eyes on these.” 

Monokuma’s red eye glints and claws extend from it’s paws. There’s a thunderous sound from somewhere above them, and then, five robots drop from the sky. They aren’t robots like Monokuma. They’re robots like you could find in any sci-fi film— huge and unmistakably mechanical, and they’re surrounding them. 

“These are The Exisals! Self-piloted killing machines, responding to my every command, ready to riddle you with bullets if you break the school rules.”

“R— right…” There’s sweat dripping down Momota’s forehead.

“And what’s the third reason? Amami speaks up. He doesn’t seem afraid of the Exisals, just...curious…”You said there was three, right?”

“Reason three: You wouldn’t really deprive the world of a handsome, lovable bear like myself would you?”

“A tragedy, I’m sure.” Amami rolls his eyes.

“Personally, I think we should go back to the killing each other thing.” Ouma exclaims. “What was that, exactly, Monocomma?”

“It’s Monokuma!” The bear shouts. “And of course, I’ll give you a full explanation. I can’t keep my precious students in the dark. Well, not about this anyway. You lucky sixteen students are here to participate in a trial-based game of mutual killing! This isn’t some all out bloodbath like you’d see in Hollywood. When someone manages to kill their classmate, they will become ‘blackened’.The rest of the ‘spotless’ students will have some time for investigation, and then face off against the blackened in the class trial. If you figure out 'whodunnit', then vote for them! If you vote correctly, then the blackened will be punished, and the remaining students can continue with their school lives. Vote incorrectly, and everyone besides the blackened will be punished, and the blackened will be permitted to leave the school.”

“This can’t be happening…” Yumeno shakes her head. “You can’t....it’s too cruel.”

Saihara...Saihara’s head is swimming. This entire situation feels unbelievable. It doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel like something that should happen to real, ordinary people. Kill...they’re supposed to kill each other? Are they capable of that? Is _he_?

He doesn’t want to find out the answer.

“...I think I can guess, but I must ask. By ‘punishment’ you mean?”

“Execution, of course!” 

Those words don’t affect him like they should. They don't affect him at all. After waking up in a locker, killer robots, and a talking teddy bear, the idea of execution seems downright normal in comparison. 

“So, enough with the boring explanations. Let’s have a great, new season of mutual killing! I won’t ask how you’ll kill ‘em - I won’t decide your means! You like blunt pain? Poison? Stabbing? Blood loss? Staking? Beheading? Crushing? Suffocation? Strangling? Killing by laughing?! I’m fine with it all! The way you wanna kill… who you wanna kill… this entire academy is just for that purpose! Sixteen students locked up for an all-new killing game…!”

“An all-new season of mutual killing…” Amami muses.

“To trap a bunch of people in a game like this...I guess we truly haven’t come far since the gladiators of ancient Rome…” Shinguuji sighs.

“How are you all so calm about this? God...just like men…” Chabashira brushes past them, heading for the door. 

_Why are you only calling out the men?_

Ouma shouts after her. “Are you really sure you want to be walking off on your own right now, Chabashira-chan? Any of these awful men could follow you and attack you from behind!”

Chabashira spins on her heel. “Is...is that a threat?” She glares.

“No,” Ouma says flatly. “Just a warning.”

“He’s right, Chabashira-san,” Akamatsu agrees. “There’s safety in numbers. We should stick together for now and keep looking for a way out.”

...A way out. That’s right. They don’t have to worry about a killing game if they can just leave. They got into this school somehow, so logically there has to be a way out. No one will kill anyone, even the most idiotic of murderers won’t strike in a group like this, and then they’ll go back to their normal lives. After all, they’re ordinary high school kids. They’re not cut out for a killing game.


	2. chapter one: together we stand, united they fall - daily life (part one)

Before they leave the gym, they decide to take a closer look at their monopads. Monokuma said that the school rules tab was now available, and none of them want to accidentally break a rule and be taken out by whatever weapons The Exisals are carrying.

  * **#1:** Students are required to cohabitate at the Ultimate Academy for the remainder of the forseeable future.
  * **#2:** When a murder is committed in the academy, a class trial will be conducted. Participation in this trial is mandatory for all surviving students.
  * **#3:** If the killer (hereinafter referred to as "the blackened") is correctly identified during the class trial, only the blackened will be punished for their crime.
  * **#4:** If the blackened cannot be identified, or if an incorrect student is identified as the blackened, all students except the blackened will be punished for the crime.
  * **#5:** If the blackened survives the class trial, they are declared the winner. At which point, they will graduate from the Ultimate Academy and re-enter the outside world.
  * **#6:** If innocent students (hereinafter referred to as "the spotless") continue to survive class trials, the killing game will continue until only two students remain.
  * **#7:** "Nighttime" is officially designated as the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. During this time, the dining hall and gymnasium are off-limits.
  * **#8:** All acts of violence toward Monokuma, the headmaster of the Ultimate Academy, are strictly prohibited.
  * **#9:** Monokuma will never directly participate in a murder.
  * **#10:** Your Monopads are very important items. Make sure you do not damage them.
  * **#11:** A body discovery announcement will occur when three or more students discover a body.
  * **#12:** Students have free reign to explore the Ultimate Academy as they see fit.
  * **#13:** Students who violate these rules will be exterminated with extreme prejudice by the Exisals.
  * **#14:** The headmaster may add additional regulations to this list at any time.



There’s almost as many rules as there are ‘students’ at this 'academy'. This thing...this killing game...has clearly been planned out down to the last detail. Saihara can’t help but think it’s almost impressive.

A lot of the rules are things the bear already explained to them, like the class trials, or their threatened exterminations. A few of the rules stand out in his mind though. The first is that Monokuma will never directly participate in a murder. It’s not so much a rule as it a sick guarantee. When ( _not when, not even if, they’re going to get out of here,_ he mentally insists to himself) one of them drops dead, they know it will be at their own hands. 

“Wh-what does this rule mean? ‘If innocent students continue to survive class trials, the killing game will continue until only two students remain’? Why two?”

“Well, you can’t have a class trial with just two people. The innocent party would immediately know who the guilty one is, and the vote would probably end in a tie,” Saihara hypotheses.

“So what happens to the surviving tw- two students?” Angie asks.

“Probably nothing good,” Akamatsu replies, pocketing her monopad. “Let’s go.”

They start with the basement. It’s closer than outside, and apparently smaller too. When they climb down the stairs (which is a struggle with so many people trying to move at once) all Saihara sees are two narrow, dark hallways. 

Walking through the first door they find lands them in a library. It’s surprisingly well-stocked, with shelves that almost reach the ceiling covering every wall. Said shelves are filled with books, though there doesn’t seem to be any particular theme to them. He runs his fingers over the spines, noting that there’s a random manga volume shoved next to Anna Karenina shoved next to what the cover tells him is a romance novel about fisherman. That one grabs his attention for a second, though he doesn’t know why. He likes books; as a kid he’d read instead of play outside and as a teen he’d spent most of what little free time he had reading...at least, that’s all he can remember doing anyway. Still, romance was never his genre. He’d found it too...fake. Of course, it was fiction, but it was a fiction too saccharine for him to fall for.

He slips the book back where he found it and kneels down to study the globe next to him instead. With its glowing lights, It doesn’t exactly match the old, musty aesthetic of the rest of the library.

“They sure put a lot of work into making this seem like a real school, huh?” Akamatsu crouches down next to him. “Just for us to kill each other? That’s so twisted…”

“That’s a good thing, Akamatsu-chan,” A dry voice comes from the shelves next to them. Ouma is rifling through the books, but Saihara didn’t even hear him approach. “Now, instead of resorting to murder any would be killers can just read— “ He picks a book off the shelves and glances at the cover. “Hardcore porn! What the fuck!” He finishes brightly.

“Porn?” Momota’s eyes light up.

“Ugh, Keep that shit away from me,” Iruma snaps.

Saihara slips away from the conversation, cheeks burning. He ends up standing by Toujou, Amami, and Shinguuji instead. Amami seems to be the only one investigating. Shinguuji is busy lying on the floor and Toujou is just as busy scowling at them.

“How can you sit on that? It’s so dusty. God, doesn’t anybody clean this school?”

“Who do you suggest does that?” Shinguuji asks. “The bear?”

“I don’t know, but until someone cleans this place I’m not setting foot in it again. It’s a tiny library, anyway.”

She flounces out, graceful even in her anger.

“Those raised in money certainly have a different culture, it seems.” Shinguuji almost sounds bitter.

Saihara can’t help but to silently agree with them, but also shudders at the dust that must be clinging to their long hair right now. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“I’m nonbinary,” they answer, automatic and emotionless.

“That’s...not what I was going to ask, actually.” Saihara is suddenly very uncomfortable. He knows constantly being questioned about things like that is...far from fun. “It’s actually about the mask.”

“Oh.” One of Shinguuji’s hands flutter up to the black mask covering the lower half of their face, like they’d forgotten it was there. “How about this, Saihara? I’ll tell you why I wear this mask if you tell me why you wear that hat.”

As if he’s Shinguuji's mirror-image, Saihara’s own hand goes flying to the brim of his cap. He wears it so often it’s less like an accessory and more like a part of him, to the point that Shinguuji questioning him about it is akin to questioning why he has a right arm.

Of course, he does have a right arm for a reason. He has one because it’s a basic level of human biology. And of course, he has his hat for a reason too. A reason he’s not willing to share, and he gets the feeling Shinguuji knows that. In fact, he feels like they’re smiling behind their mask, though he has no way to tell.

“Goodbye, Saihara.” They wave, get up, and walk away.

It’s just him and Amami now, but Amami isn’t looking at him, too wrapped up in the bookcase. Even so, It’s too much. He needs to be alone. He needs to breathe. He needs...he needs...fuck, what does he need? He’s trapped with all these people, every one of them strangers. Any of them could be planning to murder him. Amami could slice him open and let him bleed out on the floor. Shinguuji could slit his throat and then lick the blood away, Momota could beat him to a pulp. Murder, death, murder, _dead_.

“Saihara-kun,” Amami’s voice filters in through his thoughts and drags him back to the real world. “Have you found anything?”

“Uh, no. I’m not sure there’s anything here.” He tries to hide the panic in his voice and the strange, graphic thoughts that were just plaguing his mind. Either it really doesn’t show in his voice, or Amami already knows.

“Yeah, me neither,” he replies, but he’s still staring at the books. Saihara crouches down to get a closer look at them, and finds he doesn’t understand a word written on the spines.

“They’re foreign.” Amami points out. “This one’s French, this one’s Korean, this one is Greek.” 

“Oh. You know a lot of languages, huh?”

“Apparently so, yeah.” He laughs. 

They both push themselves up off the floor when Akamatsu tells them they should keep exploring. Still, as they leave the library, Saihara can’t help but feel like there’s something he’s missing.

The next room is the game room he remembers Hoshi mentioning earlier. He doesn’t know if it’s more unusual that a school has a game room, or that the game room seems so...bare. Other than a few beaten up arcade machines sitting against the walls, it’s practically empty.

Saihara bypasses them all, heading to the red door at the back of the room instead. An AV room, apparently. He looks over the dvds lining the shelves, but they’re not very interesting. While the library seemed to carry an almost-too-wide variety of books, the DVD collection consists mostly of popular blockbusters from the last ten years or so.

He doesn’t realise he’s not alone in the room until he turns around and finds himself face-to-face with the nameless white-haired boy.

“Uh, hello?” He tries. 

The boy stares at him, unblinking. It’s...unnerving, to say the least. Saihara pulls the brim of his hat further down over his eyes.

“Hello,” The boy replies. It’s too late and sounds all wrong.

“Sorry, I don’t think I caught your name.”

The boy doesn’t respond again, but a frown etches itself onto his face. It’s as if such a basic statement caught him off guard. 

“My family’s name is Idabashi.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

Right. No given name. Sure, why not. It’s not like they’ll know each other long enough for Saihara to need it.

“We are searching for a way out, correct?” Idabashi asks.

“Yeah?”

“Why?”

The question itself and the pure, haunting lack of emotion it’s said with send a chill down Saihara’s spine. _Why?_ How can he ask _why?_ It’s obvious why! Unless...Idabashi _wants_ to be in this situation…

“Excuse me?” Saihara asks. Surprisingly, he keeps himself together, letting none of his confusion or outrage leak into his tone. Instead, to his own ears, he just sounds…cold, perhaps even calculating. 

“Why do you want to leave?” 

Saihara moves. He doesn’t know if he’s about to take a step back or a step forward, and he never finds out, because the door opens and two people walk in. 

It’s Harukawa, with Angie following closely behind. That’s not a surprise; he doesn’t think either of them have let each other out of their sight since that scene in the courtyard.

“What’s going on in here?” Harukawa asks sternly.

“Nothing. I was just leaving.” Saihara makes his escape back to the game room, but under his cap his eyes don’t stray from Idabashi.

When he spots Akamatsu he wants to run up to her and tell her about the weird encounter, but she’s wrapped up in a conversation with Shirogane. He holds back. He can always tell her later, if it even still matters.

It isn’t long until they start moving again, the game room ending up yet another dead end. The courtyard is even less welcoming than inside— despite there being fresh air out here, the bars only serve to remind Saihara they’re trapped more than walls ever could. The setting sun is a strange comfort though. There’s something about the night that eases the weight on his chest. Probably some Pavlovian response to often finding the night the only time he had to relax.

He lets everyone else decide where they’re going, though it’s not a surprise when they end up at the same red door from earlier. It’s surprising when it actually opens when Momota pushes it, but it’s surprising the way being stabbed with a dull knife is surprising. He already knows it’s not an exit, after all. 

Behind the door they find a fountain, and almost nothing else. 

“Is this it?!” Chabashira complains.

“I think it’s pretty,” Yumeno says.

Chabashira seems to tense at that, staring down at the redhead who’s been stuck to her side like glue. 

“It’s nice, Yumeno-san! Tenko just meant why was it locked earlier if there’s nothing here.”

“Oh, that was just the construction work!” 

“Gahhh!”

Somehow, Monokuma is standing in the garden with them like it’s been there the whole time. Saihara would think it had been, since it knew what they were talking about, but surely _someone_ would have noticed the bear when they walked in.

“Construction work?” Ouma’s tone is hovering in the gray area between question and comment. 

“Yeah! I’m sure you’ve all noticed it outside the school building too. The Ultimate Academy is a work in progress. Luckily for you bastards, this area just needed a few minor tweaks and now you can explore the shrine of judgement to your heart's content.”

“Geez, Monochromia, you robbed me of the chance to use my lockpicking skills! Now how will I gain everyone’s trust.” He pouts.

“Here’s a tip from someone who’s an old hat at the killing game business: Trust is what’s gonna get you killed...unless that’s exactly why you want these suckers to trust you in the first place.”

Ouma doesn’t respond, and Monokuma disappears as fast as it appeared, it’s trademark laugh echoing in the air.

If Saihara said they weren’t all side-eyeing Ouma right now, himself included, he’d be lying. 

“That bear is bad news.” Amami shakes his head. “Let's keep exploring”

They keep going. The small building with a rusty blue door down a lane in the courtyard is locked.

“Is this more construction work?” Chabashira asks.

Saihara isn’t sure. Something about this door is different. It’s ornate, more so than most of the other doors. It reminds him of the locked door with a piano print he and Akamatsu had found earlier, and the one they’d passed that bore a distinct checkerboard pattern. Something about these doors feels special, but there’s nothing he can do except file that away for later as they all move on.

The big wooden door not far from the school entrance is locked too. The only door left is one hidden far behind the school.

Saihara’s starting to feel tired, but he pushes that away and follows everyone through the door. His brain wakes up again when he spots the manhole in the ground, though he knows just from looking at it that his own skinny arms won’t be able to lift it.

“Gokuhara-kun, would you mind-ah—?” 

Gokuhara bends down and lifts the manhole cover like it weighs nothing while Saihara avoids the glare he’s sure he’s on the receiving end of right now. 

“Well, if this killing game does start, looks like we know who to watch out for,” Ouma quips.

“Thought the bear said that was you?” Gokuhara responds.

Saihara can sense the smile in Ouma’s voice. “You’re smart, I like you.”

“Well, that’s a first.” 

“Are we going to chit-chat all day, or are we climbing into this dark and desolate hole in the ground that’s no doubt a trap?”

“The dark-desolate-trap hole, obviously,” Hoshi answers.

“...How about _you guys_ climb into the trap hole, and I wait up here?” Toujou shudders.

“What? Afraid?” Hoshi taunts.

“Of death? Hardly. Of sewage? Oh yeah.”

“Either we’re all climbing into the hole, or none of us are climbing into the hole,” Akamatsu insists. “Come on Saihara-kun, Shirogane-san. You’re with me, right?”

“..Right, of course.” 

Honestly, he was hoping someone else would go first. That way, he’d be able to get more information on what exactly he’s climbing into before he does it. But...Akamatsu asked him to. She’s stuck by him since he fell out of the locker, and as a result he trusts her more than anyone else here. He owes her this much, probably. Besides, it won’t exactly look good if he backs out. There are fifteen pairs of eyes here judging him; making himself look like a coward in this situation would probably be inviting an attempt on his life (‘ _not that it will come down to that_ ’ he tries to tell himself.).

Akamatsu grabs on to the rungs of the ladder and climbs down first, Shirogane follows her, and Saihara goes next. He wonders briefly if no one else will follow, but he’s not even halfway down when he hears someone a few rungs above him. He takes it slowly, struggling to find the rungs by feeling alone in the dark. He can't see anything. The only noises are the heavy breathing from those he knows are around him but can’t see. His cap probably isn’t helping, but even if he was willing to take it off now he wouldn’t be able to. Surprisingly, the darkness eventually starts to let up, and he makes the last few steps with a tenuous new-found confidence. 

After what feels like an eternity, his feet hit solid ground. Wherever they are, it’s bigger than he expected, with high walls giving them more than enough room to stand upright. It’s also...barren. There’s nothing here. Well... there’s _one_ thing. He finds Akamatsu and Shirogane huddled in a corner, looking at something Shirogane has in her hands.

He makes his way over to them, and the object slowly comes into view. Two pieces of wood, or more accurately, one piece broken into two halves. The first half has the letters ‘E’ and ‘X’ emblazoned on it. The second ‘I’ and ‘T’

‘Exit’

A broken exit sign in a room with nowhere to go but back up.

Why is it even here?

Unless...unless…

It’s not easy to spot, but there’s a patch of wall just in front of where they’re standing that’s a slightly different shade of grey to the rest. Leaning forward to touch it, his fingertips meet cool stone instead of the metal he’s expecting, and just the tiniest bit of paint is left smeared on his hands.

“The exit was here, they’ve blocked it off.” 

“Why...why would they do that?” Shirogane whispers under her breath.

“Well, they obviously blocked it off to keep us trapped. The sign...maybe they left it just to taunt us?”

In the time they’ve been talking, everyone else has made it down to the ladder. It doesn’t take them long to overhear the conversation they’re having or spot the remnants of a sign in Shirogane’s hands.

_Bang!_

Above Saihara’s head, Gokuhara’s fist slams into the wall. Saihara swears his bones shake with the tremors that run down to the floor. Gokuhara doesn’t let up, swinging his fists at the wall again, and again, until plaster is crumbling around them and blood is pooling in Gokuhara’s knuckles.

“Well, that’s not going to get us anywhere!” Ouma shouts.

If Gokuhara hears, then he doesn’t respond, or even stop.

“I’m putting an end to this,” Amami says firmly. “Momota-kun, Chabashira-san, would you mind helping me.”

“Sure, I can take this guy easy!” Momota cheers.

“Tenko can defeat him even easier.”

“We’re stopping him, not fighting him!”

Both Momota and Chabashira grumble.

Surprisingly in-sync, Chabashira and Momota grab one of Gokuhara’s arms each and Amami manages to wrap his arms around his middle. Gokuhara doesn’t even try to hold his ground, instead toppling over. For a moment Saihara fears he’ll crush Amami underneath him and they’ll have the first murder on their hands, but somehow Amami manages to roll out from underneath him just in time.

“Ow,” he says belatedly. 

“Wh-what happened?” Gokuhara asks, sitting up.

“What do you mean what happened? Amami-chan stopped you pummeling your fists to slush is what happened!” Ouma pipes up.

“Oh,” Gokuhara stares at his hands, as if just realising the blood dripping down them. “Sorry. I..uh...didn’t mean to. Did you get hurt, Amami-kun?”

Amami doesn’t answer his question, instead turning one of Gokuhara’s hands over in his own and saying “You’re bleeding pretty bad.”

“There has to be a first-aid kit around this school somewhere, right?” Harukawa asks. “Has anyone seen one?”

“If I was you i’d check the warehouse. There’s tons of crap in there,” Iruma says.

“Right.” Amami nods. “Come on, Gokuhara.”

“No. We’re not leaving two people alone together,” Akamatsu states firmly.

“I’ll go with them,” Harukawa says. “If that’s okay with you, Angie-san.”

Angie gives a minuscule nod. “If you’re going then I’ll come too.”

“That enough, Akamatsu-san?” 

“In theory, but...I think I’ll come with you too. If we can find anything to break this wall down, it would have to be in the warehouse, right?”

“Pfft, it’s full of crap, not construction equipment.” Iruma blows her hair out of her eyes. “But beats hanging around here.”

“Guess we’re going on a class field trip!” Ouma cheers.

“Do you ever shut up?” Hoshi asks him. 

“Only when things get serious.”

“What part of this isn’t serious?”

Though they haven’t technically given up, it’s clear on the walk back that their spirits are dampened. A feeling of hopelessness permeates the air, weighing them all down. When they reach the warehouse, they don’t even bother searching for something to get them out. It’s like Iruma said, there’s not a jackhammer or a battering ram in here, just a lot of sports equipment, school supplies, and other random junk. 

Yumeno walks over to the mats on the floor and falls dead asleep. 

“Big mood,” Iruma says. 

“Is she okay?” Harukawa asks. 

“She told Tenko she tires easily. Something about a chronic condition.” Chabashira sits down next to Yumeno and hesitantly brushes her hair out of her eyes. 

It’s like they’re all dominoes. Once Yumeno and Chabashira fall, the rest of them follow suit, sitting down on the dusty floor between the shelves of towels and toiletries. Amami manages to find a first-aid kit at least. He expertly bandages Gokuhara’s knuckles while they sit. 

For a silence between complete strangers, it’s surprisingly not awkward. They’re most likely just too exhausted to make it awkward. 

_Bing Bong._

_Bing Bong._

“It is now ten p.m, meaning nighttime has officially begun. The cafeteria and gym are now closed, and entry is strictly forbidden. Sweet dreams, sleep tight, and be sure to lock the door so the murder bugs don't bite!”

Monokuma’s face vanishes from the monitor. No one moves a muscle. Saihara, at least, is tense about going to sleep here. He doesn’t imagine it’s the outcome any of them were hoping for.

“Wh-what do we do now?” Angie asks quietly. On the floor, her hand reaches for Harukawa’s and they silently tangle their fingers together.

“We should probably get some rest. Whether we want to or not. Exhaustion won’t do us any good,” Amami replies. 

“What if I’m too exhausted to move?” Iruma groans.

“Amami is correct. I believe it is in all our best interests to go to bed.” 

Saihara starts at the voice. Despite their unnerving conversation earlier, he’d almost forgotten Idabashi was here. It’s like he blends into the background, not standing out even though he really should.

“I don’t want to sleep anywhere made by a creep who kidnapped us,” Iruma complains again. 

“I assure you the accommodation is quite satisfactory.”

“...and how do you know that?”

“I woke up in the dormitories. I checked my own before walking outside and finding Ouma.”

All eyes turn to the purple-haired boy, who seems the most awake of all of them.

“I didn’t notice what direction he came from. I was already trying to lockpick the red door, not that that got me anywhere.”

“Are you—” Idabashi blinks “—suspecting me?”

“...That’s what happens when you’re suspicious, kid,” Hoshi says.

“...Oh. I suppose that does make sense.”

“Right.” Momota slams his fists together. “Let’s just...go to bed. I’ll figure this fucking mess out in the morning.”

“Are we really going to be safe sleeping here?” Angie speaks up.

“If any of you try to kill me in your sleep...go ahead, it beats spending another day with you losers,” Iruma says before walking out the door.

“The announcement said our rooms have locks, so we should be fine.” Ouma shrugs.

“Ouma-kun, you can pick locks,” Saihara points out.

“Yep! So I guess if there’s a murder with a picked lock, you can suspect me first,” He says brightly. “Let's hope there’s not one of those.”

Saihara decides at that moment that he doesn’t get Ouma at all. Not that he’s really sure he gets any of these people he’s trapped with.

“After you, Saihara-chan.” 

He heads back into the hallway, trying to remind himself how to get to the dorms. Iruma must have already left for her room. Ouma slips out a few seconds later and gives him a small wave as he heads confidently in what Saihara guesses is the right direction. “Goodnight, Saihara-chan.” 

“Goodnight, Ouma-kun.”

Akamatsu appears a moment later, closely followed by Shirogane. 

“Well, I guess we should head to bed,” Shirogane says. “Hopefully, someone will come to save us in the morning.”

Akamatsu scoffs. “Do you really think we can rely on someone to save us, Shirogane-san? We’re in this alone.”

The night air is slightly cooler than it was when they were last outside, but still warm enough that Saihara feels perfectly comfortable in his school blazer. Is it summer? He remembers he wasn’t wearing a jacket the day he got kidnapped, so he supposed it must be, or at least close to it...provided that memory is as recent as he thinks.

“What about your family? don’t you think they’ll be looking for you, Akamatsu-san?” Shirogane asks.

“Pfft. Honestly, my parents are probably glad i’m gone.”

“Oh,” Shirogane sighs sadly. “What about the rest of your family?”

“I’m an only child, and I never really knew much about my extended family. It’s...in a situation like this, it’s just me.”

“No, I don’t think that’s true,” Saihara says firmly. “It’s not just you. I doubt my family is looking for me either. I lived with my uncle but...he never exactly cared about me. But we have each other, Akamatsu-san.”

“Yes, that’s right! Between the sixteen of us, I’m sure we can get out of here,” Shirogane smiles.

Saihara elects not to mention that he didn’t necessarily mean all sixteen of them. In fact, he’s not even sure he meant all three of them. Shirogane seems...fine, sure, but he doesn’t really know how he feels about her. The rest of them...the jury is still out on all of them...some more than others.

“Is it really all sixteen of us?” Akamatsu asks. “Some of them haven’t exactly given us reason to trust them.”

“Like who? To be honest, there’s some people I’m not sure about either. But I thought maybe I was just being paranoid.”

They’re nearing the dorms now, and Saihara pushes the door open to let them in. It’s a circular room with two stories, and above each door is a portrait of one of the ‘students’. It’s unnerving, in a way. Just how prepared were their kidnappers?

“We can talk about it in the morning. Right now, I just need some time to think,” Akamatsu says. “Well, I guess this is my room. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

“Goodnight, Akamatsu-san,” They both tell her. 

It’s just him and Shirogane now. She turns to look at him, a smile on her face. Fear and anxiety clog his throat, but he swallows them down and forces himself to hold his ground.

“You’re really sticking to Akamatsu-san like glue, huh, Saihara-kun?” Her tone is pleasant, almost sweet. Saihara’s had enough experience with girls just like her not to let it fool him. 

“Aren’t you doing the same, Shirogane-san?” For once, he meets her eyes. Whatever she sees there only makes her smile grow.

“Oh, this will be interesting.” She laughs. “Sleep well, Saihara-kun.”

She skips off to her room. Saihara quickly heads to his own when he spots Chabashira enter the dorm behind him, piggybacking a still exhausted Yumeno. He doesn’t want to have to interact with them. He needs some space to breathe and think now that he has somewhere safe to hide out.

His room is...surprisingly nice. If he was a kidnapper, he doesn’t think he’d provide warm rooms with soft beds, en-suite bathrooms, and televisions. In fact, it doesn’t even seem in-keeping with the school aesthetic— he’s never been to a boarding school before, but he thinks the rooms are probably more simplistic in a real school. The only thing serving as a reminder to where they are is one of the ever-present monitors hanging on the wall. 

He quickly spots a key on the coffee table. He goes to grab it, only to be intercepted by that bear popping out of nowhere again. 

“Yep! That’s the key to this room, be sure to lock your door. Upupu.”

“...I guessed,” Saihara says flatly. Really, what else would the key be for? There’s a lot of locked doors around here, but he doubts the keys to them would be so easily provided, if they ever get their hands on them at all. 

“Hey, kid, work with me here,” Monokuma snaps. “Your headmaster is only trying to help you out.”

Saihara locks his door. He doesn’t want to be locked in a room with Monokuma, but since the robotic bear can apparently pop in and out of places at will, he’s sure it will find its way out again.

“Hey, Monokuma,” he says, turning the key. “Someone’s controlling you, right?”

“Oh? And what makes you think that? A.I’s like me are surprisingly advanced these days. Who knows, maybe one day you could even have a robot as a friend! Then again...making friends isn’t exactly your area of expertise, is it?”

Saihara ignores the jibe. If Monokuma wants to hurt him, it’s going to have to try harder than such an easy insult he’s heard so many times before. 

He doesn’t know why he’s so sure someone must be controlling the bear. Something about it just feels right. Still, he’s willing to admit robotics isn’t exactly an area he’s ever attempted to learn about.

“Even if it’s all your A.I, someone still had to create that. You may try to act otherwise, but someone made you. There’s a person behind this, somewhere. So, why use you? Why not show their face to us?” He puts the key back on the coffee table. Monokuma hasn’t moved from where it first appeared. He’s so close to it that he could reach out and touch it, if he wanted. Apparently some part of him _does_ want to, because he finds himself reaching out without realising. He quickly pulls his arm back and tries to pass it off as nothing but a twitch.

Why the hell would he want to touch that thing? It would probably swipe him with it’s claws for even trying.

“Why don’t they show their face to you? ...Who says they haven’t?”

And there it is. An almost confirmation of the theory that’s been springing around in his mind for a while now. Whoever kidnapped them...may very well be hiding amongst their victims, pretending to be one of them. 

“That’s not what you should be focusing on though! Is there a mastermind, who’s the mastermind...that schtick is so overdone. Does it really matter, in the end, if it’s one of you? What matters is the killing!”

Saihara fiddles with the brim of his cap. “No one's going to kill anyone.” 

“Now, we both know that’s not true. It’s as they say, in this school, it’s kill or be killed! Sweet dreams, Saihara.”

Monokuma pops out of the room like it was never there, finally leaving Saihara with nothing but his thoughts for company.

He collapses on his bed, not bothering to even search the room. That can wait. He has all night, after all. First, he needs to think about what he already knows. 

Sixteen high school students. All from different schools. All strangers. It’s possible (probable) one of them is the mastermind behind this.

He knows it’s not him, unless his memory loss is even worse than he thought. But if he was the mastermind, why erase his _own_ memory?

That leaves fifteen students. 

Akamatsu — he trusts her.

So that leaves fourteen.

Chabashira — Quiet. Physically strong. Doesn’t seem fond of men but seems to at least care about Yumeno.

Yumeno — Sweet. Friendly. Easily tired. He’s barely talked to her but she doesn’t seem suspicious so far. 

Iruma — Kind of crass. Doesn’t pull her punches. Seems less unnerved by their situation than some of the others, but maybe that’s just who she is as a person.

Toujou— Probably rich. Seems a little self-absorbed, but not really rude. Another student he doesn’t know too well. 

Hoshi — Cynical. Quick to start an argument. Also seems not to care about their situation...or much of anything.

Gokuhara — Obvious anger issues, but otherwise seems nice enough. Strong. Smarter than you’d think by looking at him.

Shinguuji — Kind of weird, but they seem okay provided you don’t ask about their mask or do anything else to get on their bad side.

Momota — Kind of intimidating. Seems to like to feel in charge even if he’s not actually contributing anything. The kind of person Saihara would give a wide berth on the outside, but ironically probably the person he’s spoken to most after Akamatsu, Shirogane and maybe Ouma.

Harukawa — They’ve barely spoke directly. All he can say is that it’s obvious she either wants to or feels the need to look after others, especially Angie.

Angie — A deer permanently stuck in headlights. Either she’s traumatised by something or she’s just easily frightened, probably the former. Doesn’t seem like a threat...seems more like an easy target.

Those are the people he doesn’t really have feelings on one way or another yet, either because he doesn’t know them well enough or because they don’t seem particularly suspicious from what he does know.

That leaves four.

Amami — Something about him makes it seems like he knows more than he lets on, but Saihara can’t put his finger on what. For some reason, all his memories were taken compared to the rest of them who at least seem to remember most of their lives before being kidnapped. Seems intelligent, maybe more than he should be. That’s all suspicious, but he’s been nothing but nice so far.

Ouma — Knows how to pick locks. That’s the only thing Saihara feels he can say about him for sure. He’s not even sure his name is real. Suspicious, and making no effort to change that.

Shirogane — Obviously has a dark side under the personality she shows on the surface. Outgoing, perhaps too much so when it comes to certain people. He doesn’t know if she’s actually suspicious or she just doesn’t like him.

Idabashi — His number one suspect. He knew that much even before he started trying to work it out. Talking to him is downright unsettling, and if he knows that then he doesn’t care. He’s weird, possibly knows too much, seems perfectly content with being trapped here, and doesn’t even try to hide any of that.

But where does he go from here? In the morning, despite their efforts, they’ll still all be trapped here. He won’t say as much out loud, but he’s given up on finding a way out. No one will come to rescue him. If his uncle even reports him missing, it probably won’t be for a while. His best chance is relying on someone else’s family to care enough to save them, freeing the rest of them in the process.

He’s long given up relying on others. But maybe...maybe he doesn’t have another choice here.

He’ll talk to Akamatsu about this in the morning, at least. Maybe she’ll think of something he’s failed to, or he'll actually be able to come up with a plan regarding the mastermind if he gets in thoughts in order out loud.

With these thoughts in mind, he falls into a surprisingly peaceful sleep. 

* * *

_??? theatre_

_So, it’s starting, huh?_

_I’m still unsure about this, but you already know that. I’ll be watching everyday, even if...well, let’s not think about that._

_Good luck._

* * *

_Bing Bong._

_Bing Bong._

_“_ Good morning, students of The Ultimate Academy! It’s eight a.m, time to start the first full day of your killing school life.”

The monitor shuts off and Saihara pushes himself out of bed with a groan. He’s used to early mornings, but he’s not used to such a grating wake up call. What he wouldn’t give for the peaceful sounds of an Iphone radar alarm right now.

Despite the situation, he tries to stick to his usual morning routine. A shower, washing his face, brushing his teeth. The bathroom is thankfully full of things he can use, though there’s no brand names in sight.

Next: clothes. He opens the closet to find endless copies of the same school uniform he’d slept in. He supposes that makes some kind of sense, as this is allegedly a school, though you think it would have its own uniform instead of copies of the one from his actual high school.

He changes into one of them and slides his hat back on. Immediately, he finds himself at a loss of what to do. Akamatsu had said they’d meet in the morning, but they didn’t make any solid plans. Is he supposed to wait here? Is he supposed to meet her and Shirogane at her room? Or somewhere else? 

He’s saved from his internal dilemma by a doorbell ringing. 

“Hello?” He approaches the door slowly, waiting for a response.

“Hey, Saihara, It’s Momota! We’re gathering everyone to meet at the dining hall.”

Saihara opens the door slowly and slides outside, closing it behind him. Momota is standing there alone, in (what is hopefully) a copy of the same uniform he was wearing yesterday.

“Ah, have you seen Akamatsu-san?” 

“She went ahead. Everyone else is already at the dining hall. So, let’s go.”

Saihara doesn’t get a choice seeing as Momota swings his arm around Saihara’s shoulders and starts walking them out of the doors.

“Is that...The exisals?” Saihara freezes when he notices the killer robots they were introduced to last night wandering across the school grounds, doing...something.

“Tch, yeah. I started shouting at one of them when I noticed too, but that damn bear showed up and said they’re working on the school’s renovations and won’t hurt us if we don’t break any rules.”

That doesn’t settle the cold fear in Saihara’s stomach as they walk past the machines, but true to Momota’s words they don’t even look at him and they get inside the school without incident.

“So, how did you sleep?” Momota asks.

“...Surprisingly well, actually. I stayed up thinking for a while, but I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

“Thinking, huh? Come up with anything to get us out of here?”

“Uh, not really,” he decides not to mention his thoughts about the possible mastermind. He wants to run it by Akamatsu before anyone else. “What about you?”

“I totally have a plan! It just...requires a bit more polish. You’ll be the first one to hear about it when it’s done, though!”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because, bro, a guy like you needs someone to look out for him...someone like me!”

He wants to say he doesn’t need anyone to look out for him, that he’s been looking out for himself until now just fine. He wants to say that if he did need someone to look out for him here, he already has Akamatsu.

The words die on his tongue. Better to have an unwanted ally than an enemy, especially when it comes to someone with Momota’s strength and attitude.

“Hey, we’re here,” Momota announces as they walk into the dining hall.

Everyone is sat around the single large table in the middle of the room. Well, most of them are — Toujou and Iruma have elected to sit _on_ the table instead, talking to each other and apparently not paying attention to anyone else.

Saihara spots an empty chair next to Akamatsu and slides into it. Amami is sat across from him and offers an easy smile as he sits down.

“So, what do we actually do about food in this place? Anyone know how to cook?” Iruma raises an eyebrow, looking over them all from her spot slightly above them.

No one answers.

“Well, my skills extend to coffee and instant ramen,” she groans. “I’ll go check out the kitchen. Come on, Toujou-san.”

“Why me? I’ve never even been in a kitchen!” The other girl complains, but Iruma drags her off anyway.

“Well, guess we don’t have to worry about a killing game since apparently we’ll starve to death first,” Ouma comments.

“Holy fuck!” Iruma screeches from the kitchen. “Hey, losers, come check this out!”

Gasps leave roughly half the students as they walk into the kitchen. Saihara can see why. Laid out on the island is a buffet of breakfast foods — rice, miso soup, as well as more western options like eggs and various pastries.

“Are we sure we should eat this? I mean...you’re really going to trust a mysterious buffet you found in a killing game?” Ouma raises an eyebrow. 

Apparently, the answer is yes, since Iruma already has a croissant hanging out her mouth and there’s a clatter as people reach for plates.

“Don’t be such a downer,” Iruma says with her mouth full. “Who turns down free food?”

Saihara grabs his own plate, piling items on it without really looking at them. Iruma hasn’t dropped dead yet, so the food must be fine. Ouma, apparently, is still unwilling to take any chances though. He heads back to the table with nothing but a cup of tea he made himself and Saihara swears he can feel his eyes on his as he lifts chopsticks full of rice into his mouth.

It’s silent as they eat. Most of them are probably starving, since dinner was forgotten last night, so it’s understandable they’d rather eat than talk. When the food is gone, the silence slowly starts to lift as people begin to talk amongst themselves.

“Akamatsu-san, can I talk to you about something later? Alone?” He adds the last bit while pointedly eyeing Shirogane on Akamatsu’s other side. 

“What’s this about, Saihara-kun?”

“It’s about getting us out of here. At least, I hope it is.”

“Okay, sure. Where do you want to meet?”

“The library.” He doubts anyone else is going to go there. What’s the likelihood that, left to their own devices, a group of teenagers are going to read books?

“Sounds good. In an hour or so?”

“Yeah. I’ll — “

“I see you all enjoyed the breakfast that’s been so kindly provided for you by your darling headmaster,” Monokuma interrupts, suddenly standing at the head of the table.

“What do you want?” Chabashira, who’s sat closest to the bear, glares at it.

“I want to get this game going. There’s only so long I can _bear_ to sit around and watch you all gossip like teenagers. So, it’s finally time to introduce your first motive!”

“Motive?” Amami questions. “You mean a reason to kill each other?”

“Exact-a-mundo! Killing is so much easier when you have something to gain, especially for normal people like yourselves. So, without further ado, here it is:”

Monokuma pauses. Around the dining hall, breathing stops and tension raises. Next to Saihara, Akamatsu is gripping the edge of the table. Saihara pulls down the brim of his hat.

“I’m sure by know you’ve realised that sixteen students attend this academy. Maybe you’ve even started to get comfortable with each other. You don’t want anyone else interrupting whatever juvenile relationships you’ve started to build, right? Then get killing! Because, if a murder doesn’t occur within three days, then the Ultimate Academy will be receiving a transfer student! Specifically, one of your loved ones from the outside world.”

Monokuma vanishes again in the ensuing silence.

Next to him, Akamatsu’s grip on the table loosens. “One of our loved ones? Good thing I don’t have any.”

“So what?” Momota yells. “You’re only gonna think about yourself?”

Akamatsu turns to face him, but Shirogane interrupts whatever she was going to say.

“Is there someone you’re worried about being added to the killing game, Momota-kun?”

“...My dad.”

Shirogane nods sympathetically. “I’m scared for my sister. We’re twins, but we couldn’t be more different. She’s so quiet and...plain. I don’t think she could survive in a place like this.”

“Nobody asked for your life story,” Toujou is perched on the table again, rolling her eyes.

“No, we should talk about this,” Ouma cuts in. “Better to know what we’re in for, right? So, Toujou-chan, is there no one outside you care about?”

Toujou hesitates. “I...don’t know. My parents and I barely saw each other, they worked a lot and when they were home the house was more than big enough for us to avoid each other. I had friends, but I don’t think any of us really liked each other. I suppose…” she laughs bitterly “I was closer to the maids than anyone, but even then I doubt they’d be considered my loved ones.”

“Tenko...Tenko isn’t sure either. Her parents were away on business most of the time. She had a friend, once, but that’s long over. Tenko doesn’t want to see him again.”

“I miss my parents,” Yumeno says, sounding sad since the first time Saihara has met her, though she quickly perks up again. “They’re nice, really! Just a bit...overbearing. I still love them, though, same with my friends.”

“Pfft, sucks to be you,” Iruma says. “I have a list of exes a mile wide, if that counts. But trust me, I made sure most of them would never come near me again.” She sounds proud of that fact.

“As you all know by now, I don’t remember anything. If I do have someone I care about out there, I have no idea who they even are now,” Amami says this like he’s already accepted it.

“My parents and I don’t talk anymore. The only other member of my family is...well, I doubt they could get her here, that’s all you need to know,” Shinguuji offers.

Harukawa says “The only person I cared about out there is gone.”

“Not that you need to know, but yeah, I have no one. This motive obviously wasn’t designed with me in mind.” Hoshi adds.

“I grew up in care. I didn’t have friends so much as I had...people I knew. Some of them weren’t too fond of me, for understandable reasons,” Gokuhara says.

“Angie…” She seems most affected by the motive so far. She’s practically shaking in her seat. Next to her. Harukawa clasps her hand again, rubbing her thumb in soothing circles over the knuckles. “They won’t find Angie. They can’t. Angie...doesn’t love them, anyway.”

“That’s right,” Harukawa says softly. “They can’t get to you. Not with me around.”

The only people who haven’t said anything yet are Ouma, Idabashi, and Saihara himself. He eyes the other two, but Idabashi’s eyes are fixed firmly on the table and Ouma is staring at Saihara, obviously expecting him to talk first.

“I lived with my uncle. We weren’t close,” is all he says. “What about you, Idabashi-kun?”

He thinks of the proverb about poking a sleeping lion. He never thought he’d be the type to do so, but the lion has something he needs. The proverb doesn’t take that into account.

“I…” Idabashi mumbles. “I don’t believe I have a part in this conversation, my apologies.”

“What does that mean, Idabashi-chan?” Ouma asks. If Saihara had been the one to ask, his tone would have been filled with impatience. Ouma...sounds almost gentle. Almost. “You’re one of us, right?”

“What about yourself, Ouma...kun?” Idabashi asks instead of answering.

“Me?” Ouma grins. “No one cares about me.”

“Then...I suppose that’s my answer, too.” Idabashi’s voice is quiet, then he gets up and leaves the room. 

“...Anyone else think that guy is really fucking weird?” Momota asks after a beat.

“I think maybe he’s more than weird,” Akamatsu comments, but doesn’t offer anything further on the subject.

“It seems like many of us aren’t actually affected by the motive,” Harukawa says thoughtfully. “Unless Monokuma’s definition of loved ones includes people we don’t actually want to see again, then it seems that only Yumeno and Shirogane are the people it actually concerns.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does include people you don’t ever want to see again,” Amami says darkly. “It makes it a double edged sword. Either it’s someone you actually care about, and you don’t want them in a killing game, _or_ it’s someone you hate and don’t want to be locked up with. By that logic, the only person it doesn’t affect at all is me, since I have _literally_ nobody, at least as far as my memories are concerned.”

“No, it doesn’t affect me either.” Hoshi pushes himself out of his seat. “When I said I have no one, I meant it.” With that, he walks out of the dining hall.

People slowly start to disperse after that, heading one way or another. It doesn’t take long for Saihara to do the same, though he still has some time before he’s meant to meet Akamatsu in the library, he’d rather spend that time looking around than sitting doing nothing. He pulls up the map on his monopad to make sure he doesn’t get lost, and walks.

Despite not having any ‘loved ones’, the motive weighs on his mind. He doesn’t _hate_ his uncle, really. Being trapped with him in here would do nothing but resume the same monotony he’s spent the last few years in.

His uncle has lived in the same crummy apartment Saihara’s parents dropped him off at as a child his entire life. Two small bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, one bathroom, all barely taken care of. His uncle spends day after day on the couch, watching TV and drinking, while Saihara took himself to school and picked up weekend and evening jobs as soon as he was old enough. He didn’t want to, but his uncle wasn’t working, and the government checks couldn’t keep them both afloat forever. Every night when he got home he and his uncle would barely acknowledge each other before Saihara headed up to his room with a cup of coffee, either because he had homework he couldn’t put off anymore or because it was the only free time he had and he was going to make the most of it.

He didn’t like his uncle, but he didn’t hate him. He was just...boring. Barely more than an annoying piece of furniture in Saihara’s life.

He doubts Monokuma would bring him here. Surely, there’s more interesting people in the others lives. People who would actually shake things up. If a murder doesn’t occur first, that is. He’s not sure if anyone would kill for this motive. All he has to judge from is what they’ve told him, and for most of them that’s barely anything.

He doesn’t know, and it’s driving him crazy.

He notices the time on his monopad and changes directions towards the library. Talking about this with Akamatsu will help. If they can stop the mastermind, then this will all end, that’s one thing Saihara is sure of.


	3. chapter one: together we stand, united they fall - daily life (part two)

“I sure hope you didn’t lure me here to kill me.”

Saihara turns in the direction of Akamatsu’s voice. Her tone is light, but her expression is serious as she approaches him.

“If I was going to kill you, I wouldn’t talk about it over breakfast where everyone could hear.” he’s joking, he _is_ , but for some reason his expression is as serious as hers.

“So, if it’s not to kill me, then why _did_ you invite me here?” She gestures to the library around them. The dust and haphazard piles of books only seem to have grown, if that’s even possible. But, it’s mercifully devoid of people, just like he expected.

That’s not the only reason he called her here specifically though. There’s something about this room that bothers him. Something he knows he’s missing. He just can’t figure out what.

“I have...a theory, I suppose. About what’s happening to us. About why we’re here. I wanted to talk about it with you.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because I trust you.” He shifts the brim of his cap to cover more of his face, hoping she doesn't see his embarrassment. “Anyway, we know we were kidnapped. So, obviously one of the biggest questions is who kidnapped us, right? I have reason to believe it’s someone here, as in, one of our ‘classmates’.”

“Honestly, I thought the same thing.” Akamatsu sighs. “I have no evidence, but it just feels like the kind of thing whatever sicko would put a bunch of teenagers into a killing game would do.”

There it is again. That same...resignation that he sometimes hears in her voice. It’s unusual, different from the Akamatsu who takes control and keeps them together. He wants to dig deeper, get her to divulge her thoughts, until he feels like he knows her inside and out...but now isn’t the time for that, not to mention he’s not sure how she’d react.

“Well, I do have evidence,” he says instead. “Last night, Monokuma came to my room. I asked it why our kidnapper hasn’t shown their face to us, and it said ‘who says they haven’t? I mean, maybe the bear is lying, god knows we have no reason to trust it but— “

“We can’t just ignore it either. Not when it’s the best source of information available to us right now,” Akamatsu finishes for him. “So, do you have any theories on who it is?”

She doesn’t sound resigned anymore, or upset. Her voice is firm and straightforward, straight down to the horrible business of accusing one of the people amongst them as the mastermind.

“I...have a few,” he mutters, looking away from her and facing the bookcase in front of him. He acts as if he’s looking over the books, but really he just can’t bring himself to look at her as he shares his ideas.

What if she thinks he’s an idiot? What if he’s completely wrong? About who it is? About it even being one of them? What if she hates him for what he’s about to say?

“My main theory is Idabashi,” he starts, because it’s the easiest name on his list to drop.

Silence, then after a beat, “Who?”

Oh, right. As far as he knows, he’s the only one Idabashi has revealed his name to. If the kid didn’t blend into the background so well, he probably would have been grilled about that already. After the scene in the warehouse last night, Idabashi had garnered suspicion, but not nearly as much as he could have.

“The one with the white hair. He said he woke up in the dormitories after telling us our rooms were fine, but no one could confirm it. And...before, in the AV room, he cornered me. He said a lot of weird stuff, like asking why we wanted to leave. It was downright creepy, to be honest.”

The memory still makes him shudder a little. The lack of air in the room, the emptiness in Idabashi’s eyes, the haunting words leaving his lips.

“...Wow. You’re right...that’s...we have to do something Saihara-kun!”

“W-wait! I’m not finished.” 

“What more is there to say? It’s clearly him. You just told me yourself.”

She’s...it’s true, none of his other suspects measure up. Throwing out a bunch of names won’t help them get any closer to the truth. They have to follow their best lead, right? Besides...his other suspects...for some reason, he doesn’t want to tell Akamatsu about the conversation he had with Shirogane last night. He doesn’t want to accuse her at all. He knows the two got along well, and he’s probably not even right. Amami and Ouma...they’re not suspicious enough to count, not yet anyway.

“You’re right,” he says, finally turning to face her again. “But..what do we do?”

“Hmm.” She starts pacing where she stands, hand on her chin, the image of thoughtfulness. “I’d say we should warn the others but who knows how they might respond? Better to keep it between us for now. Other than that...God, I don’t know! My best idea is to set a trap, but I don’t know how or where. How do we prove he’s the mastermind?”

Saihara hates to admit that he doesn’t know either. The mastermind has to have something they don’t. They can’t leave themselves vulnerable amongst people they want to kill each other. They can’t control this game with fifteen pairs of watchful eyes on them. 

He’s missing something. 

He stands in the library, hoping something, _anything_ , will come to him. A flash of inspiration. A missed clue. Just _something_ that isn’t the same recycled thoughts going through his mind on repeat, torn apart and put together again with nothing useful found.

A stray footstep, almost imperceptible. Not Akamatsu’s — her school flats clack with each step.

Saihara’s head snaps up.

Standing atop one of the bookcases, so high Saihara doesn’t know how he got up there in the first place, is Ouma Kokichi.

“Ouma-kun?!” He blinks.

“Hey Saihara-chan, Akamatsu-chan.” He waves casually. “What brings you here?”

“Us?!” Akamatsu demands. “What brings _you_ here? How long have you been up there?”

“Long enough to hear more than you probably wanted me to.” He shrugs. “So, the mastermind? Finally, we’re getting somewhere.”

“What do you know about it?” Saihara frowns. 

Counting off the points on his fingers as he lists them, Ouma says: “I know you think there is one. I know I agree. I know you think you know who it is...and I know you don’t have a plan.”

“So what? You’re going to rub the fact we don’t have a plan in our faces?” Akamatsu crosses her arms, craning her neck to glare up at Ouma.

“Akamatsu-chan, is that really what you think of me?” He gasps, placing a hand over his heart in an unconvincing portrayal of hurt. “I’m here to help, obviously!”

“Somehow, I don’t believe that,” Akamatsu mutters under her breath.

“Anyway,” Ouma continues, either he hadn’t heard her or is pretending he hadn’t. “Here’s some advice from me to you: In a situation like this, you’ve really just gotta keep your head down.”

“You want us to just sit back and do nothing?!”

“No, I want you to keep your head down.”

Keep their heads down...Keep their…

“There’s scratches on this floor!” Saihara exclaims. “Look, Akamatsu-san.”

He gestures to the ground below them. In front of this specific bookcase, the floor is scuffed in two lines. It’s not obvious, but there’s definite signs of wear that his subconscious must have noticed at some point.

“Does this mean...what I think it means?” She whispers breathlessly.

There’s a thud from behind them that makes them both jump. It’s how it’s supposed to go, right? They have a lead they’re thoroughly distracted by, it’s the perfect time for the mastermind to sneak up on them and bash their heads in from behind. It isn’t until Ouma walks to their sides and he realises the other boy must have jumped from his spot atop the book case that his heart kicks back in to its regular rhythm.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Ouma says.

“You mean you don’t know?” Saihara raises an eyebrow.

_Keep your head down._

“What? Little ole me? I don’t know anymore than you do Saihara-chan. We’re in this together.” He smiles. “So, let’s figure this out.”

Saihara’s not sure he believes him. He always wears that same smile when he says things like that, like he knows what he’s saying might not be believed, like he’s daring Saihara to call him out on it.

“Never mind that right now, let’s get to work,” Akamatsu interrupts his thoughts.

Right. The bookcase. _Don’t get distracted,_ he curses at himself.

Slowly, he reaches out a hand and pulls a book off the shelf with baited breath.

Nothing happens.

Akamatsu yanks a different one off and drops it to the ground to no avail.

Delicately, Ouma slides out a third and places it beside him. Still nothing.

Between the three of them, books go flying. They begin to pile haphazardly on the floor, creating a veritable minefield if any of them were to move. Pages rip, spines crack. There’s no sound. There’s the cacophony of books clattering and heavy breathing and blood rushing in their veins. It tastes of nothing. It tastes of displaced dust. It tastes of desperation. 

Half the bookcase must be on the ground when suddenly there’s a harsh creak. Realising what’s happening, what’s _finally_ happening all at once the three of them shift back. There’s no saving the books, and they’re wiped away as the case they were once sat open swings open to reveal a door.

A door that’s half black, half white.

A door just like a certain bear.

A door that finally leads him one step closer.

“It’s...really a moving bookcase,” Akamatsu breathes.

“Yeah...kinda cliche if you ask me.” Ouma huffs..

“How do we open it?” Saihara treads towards the door, kicking a few stray books out of his path. It’s immediately obvious there’s no handle, or somewhere to slot a key. He pushes at it, just to be sure he’s not overthinking things, but of course nothing happens.

“Here.” Akamatsu points to a small square a little to the side of the door. “It looks like a card reader of some kind.”

“So, we need the card to get in...don’t suppose either of you have it?” Ouma asks brightly.

They both shoot him a _look_.

“Worth a shot.” He shrugs, and then, with his playful inflection suddenly completely dropped, he says: “So, if whoever has the card is the mastermind...we just need to catch them opening this door.”

“But how?” Akamatsu asks. “Are we supposed to stake out the library? It’s not like they’ll waltz in and open it right in front of us.”

“Maybe you’re onto something!” Saihara exclaims. This is what he was waiting for. The moment when he has enough information to not feel lost and confused in his own head, the moment his useless brain lights up with an _idea_. “If we watch from somewhere the mastermind can’t see us, then it’s possible. We just need to keep an eye on the library, not the bookcase itself, if we can find a way to tell the doors been used.”

“How would we do that?”

He looks around, eyes darting back and forth like lightning. The library really is pretty much nothing but books, that odd globe, and dust.

“Hmm, maybe there’s something in the warehouse we can use?” He suggests. Last night they’d all been too tired to properly explore the warehouse, but he knows it’s their best bet for finding anything useful.

“Okay, let’s go.” Akamatsu nods.

“We need to do something about the bookcase first, we can’t just—” as Ouma talks, the bookcase starts to slowly swing shut. “ — leave it open,” he finishes weakly.

“I guess it shuts automatically.”

Saihara barely notices their surroundings as they head upstairs. Their mission buzzes like static in his brain, leaving little room for the outer picture. Halfheartedly, he notices Gokuhara and Hoshi talking, the latter sat up on a windowsill while the former leans against the wall. They don’t run into anyone else until they’re almost at the warehouse. Standing outside the school store are Momota and Harukawa. He goes to walk straight past them, but in front of him Akamatsu and Ouma have stopped to stare at the two, effectively blocking his path.

His attention is still stuck on the warehouse, on the door, on everything this all entails, but he allows stray observations to enter his mind. The first is that he doesn’t think he’s ever seen Harukawa and Momota talk before. The second is that they’re not so much talking as they are whispering. Not the embarrassed whisper of a secret, not the conspiratorial whisper of a plan. These whispers are heavy things dripping vitriol on the ground. These whispers are shields guarding from the acid of another's attack. It’s the first conversation Saihara has seen them have, but apparently in that time they have found something to argue about.

“What’s going on here?” Ouma asks, sliding over to the two.

They part sharply, as if struck. Momota sends a glare in Ouma’s direction that he either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care about. Harukawa sighs, fiddling with one of her pigtails.

“Nothing,” she says. “I need to get back to Angie-san. We’ll talk later, Momota-kun.”

“You can talk at me all you want. I’m not changing my mind,” he grouses at her retreating figure. Then, the turns to the three of them. “The hell are you looking at?!”

Akamatsu taps her foot, impatient. “Let’s go.”

She heads towards the warehouse, and Saihara follows. He doesn’t even notice that they’re leaving Ouma behind.

Saihara’s lungs fill with musty air as the warehouse door clatters shut behind them. It looks no different from last night, shelves and floor space cluttered beyond belief. He regrets not investigating it better last night — Now he’s going to have to search through this entire place in the hopes of finding something useful. Then again, it’s not as if he has anything else to fill his day with. He’d take the blinding static as he searches for a solution over mind crushing boredom, even if it does mean leaving the secret door unguarded a little longer.

“I’ll take the right side, you take the left?” Akamatsu suggests.

“What about me?” Ouma slips into the room behind them.

“Where were you?” Akamatsu asks curtly.

“Talking to Momota-chan, obviously.” He rolls his eyes. “So, where do you want me to look, Akamatsu-chan?”

“Stick with me.”

The answer surprises Saihara...stings a little, too.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye, Saihara-chan. Looks like Akamatsu-chan here doesn’t want us alone together.” Ouma laughs.

“Come get us if you find anything useful.” Akamatsu ignores Ouma’s comment and the two disappear behind the shelves at the far end of the room. 

Alone, it’s easy for the static to overtake Saihara’s mind again.

He bypasses the mass of sports equipment (javelins, shot put balls, and other things that hold no interest to him) in the middle of the room and starts working through the shelves methodically, starting from the closest aisle. He finds nets, mats, ropes, and other things that are probably also meant to be used for sports. In the next one he finds sports bottles, towels, and tracksuits. The impressive amount of equipment really helps support the illusion this is a school...it also drives home the idea that they will be here for a very, very long time.

The aisle after that holds hope for something useful. The first things he spots are notebooks and quickly grabs one. That could come in handy for keeping track of things, like plans or specific observations he makes. He also picks up some pens, unsure if there’s any in his room. The rest of the aisle is more stationary, and despite racking his mind he can’t think of a use for it. There’s only one aisle left on his side, but he’s called away by a shout of his name.

On the other side of the room, Akamatsu and Ouma are waiting for him. Ouma quickly shoves something into Saihara’s hands before grabbing an identical something for himself.

It’s a camera. An old, plastic kind of thing he hasn’t seen in years. It’s clearly disposable, running on film. He doesn’t think he’s ever used one, but he has vague, fuzzy memories of them — perhaps in the hands of his parents. It wouldn’t have been his uncle, anyway. That man didn’t have enough of a life to photograph.

“I found these cameras. I thought they might come in handy. If we keep them on us when we’re on the lookout then we can get photographic evidence of the mastermind? You know, in case the others don’t believe us.”

“That’s a great idea,” he says. 

“I mean, we should probably check they work first.” Ouma fiddles with the camera in his hands, then paints on a grin as he directs it at Saihara. “Say cheese, Saihara-chan.”

 _Click_.

He blinks away the unexpected bright light.

“Oops, looks like the flash was on.” Ouma shrugs. “Still, looks like the camera works fine.”

“Th— that’s good.” Saihara is still blinking, despite the flash having long since vanished.

“Yeah, but we couldn’t find anything to use that would tell us the door has been opened, not without the mastermind spotting it anyway,” Akamatsu sighs.

“Me neither. Maybe that plan was a little ambitious,” He admits. 

“We could just use the cameras? If we keep hold of them and take turns watching the library from the A/V room then we can at least see who goes into the library, and if it seems like they’re acting suspicious we can follow them and snap their picture?” Ouma suggests.

“What if they enter through the other door?” Saihara points out.

“The moving bookcase is at the back of the room, right in view of the sliding door, so if we at least leave the side door ajar we should see if someone approaches the bookcase. I’d say have someone watching each door, but there’s nowhere covert to watch the other one from, while the door between the A/V room and the hallway is stuck, it only opens enough to let us see into the hallway, so no one will come through it and we’re unlikely to be seen if no one is looking for us. We don’t wanna scare the mastermind away.”

“I still wish we could do more,” Saihara mumbles. It’s the best plan that they can come up with, but he still can’t help but doubt himself.

“It’ll be fine, Saihara-chan. We’ll stop the mastermind, no one will die on my watch.”

“What Ouma-kun said. We’ll stop this asshole,” Akamatsu declares. 

“Okay.” he breathes. “Yeah, you’re right. We can do this.”

“So, how do we organise the watch shifts?”

“I don’t know. But I can’t do it right now.. I said I’d meet up with Shirogane-san.”

Saihara’s mind cycles through disappointment, anger, and paranoia in a split second.

“You’re not going to tell her, right?”

“Saihara-kun.” Akamatsu is glaring at the hand squeezing her upper up. His arm. His fingers squeezing her flesh. 

“Tell me you won’t tell her.” His fingers tighten. His knuckles go white. He can feel her blood pumping. He—

She snatches her arm away. 

“I wasn’t going to tell her,” she snaps. “More than enough people know as it is.”

“Okay,” suddenly, he needs to catch his breath. He can still feel her pulse. Or is it his? “Okay.”

“Bye, Saihara-kun.” He wants to stop her. He wants to say something. He doesn’t want to be alone for the rest of the day, but she’s already gone.

“So...” Ouma rocks back on his heels, having watched the exchange silently. “How about I take the watch until dinner? We’ll organise the rest later. See you later. Saihara-chan.

Ouma waves him off, not giving him a chance to argue, and heads down the stairs back to the basement. With Akamatsu and now Ouma gone, Saihara is alone. He realises then that he doesn’t know what to do — at home it was always school and work. When he had the time he'd read,or something, but here he can’t relax enough for that.

He’s investigated the school enough to find the secret door in the library. Is there a point in continuing to look? Are there still things to find?

Maybe, he thinks. Even if not, then it’s not as if he has a better way to spend his time.

Passing the open dining hall doors, he sees Hoshi, Shinguuji and Gokuhara gathered around the table. He intends to pass by without a word, but as if they can sense him, Shinguuji looks up and meets his eyes.

“Saihara-kun. ” They’re smiling...at least, he hopes that’s what the glint in their eye means. “Care to join us?”

“...No, thank you,” he says slowly. 

“Please, I insist.”

Saihara darts his eyes to the other two, hoping one of them would object to his presence and he can slip by.

“Fine by me.” Gokuhara shrugs. 

Hoshi doesn’t say anything.

Saihara sighs and walks over to the table with a plastered on smile and a churning stomach. Gokuhara and Shinguuji are sat on opposite sides of the table, while Hoshi sits at the head. Unsure what else to do, Saihara takes the closest seat, next to Gokuhara.

Gokuhara and Hoshi each have a handful of playing cards, most likely taken from the deck sat in front of Shinguuji.

“Tell me, Saihara,” Shinguuji starts. “Are you familiar with the rules of blackjack?”

“Uh...not really?” He’s heard of the game, but he’s never played.

“Don’t worry, it’s easy,” Hoshi tells him. “You start out with two cards. Depending on your cards, you can hit or stand. The object of the game is to get as close to twenty one as possible without going over, and beat the other players.”

“That seems simple enough.”

“Wonderful,” Shinguuji declares. “New game, then? I’ll deal you in,”

Gokuhara and Hoshi hand the cards they’re holding back to Shinguuji. They start to shuffle them expertly, almost too fast for Saihara to see.

“I’ve played a lot of card games,” they say when they notice him looking. “I found myself with a lot of time to spare in the past.”

Even if Saihara wanted to question that statement, he couldn’t. Shinguuji cuts themselves off by handing each of them two cards, then keeping another two as their own hand.

Saihara slowly slides his off the table and takes a look at his hand.

A queen of hearts and a two of clubs. Twelve in total.

“Hit me.” Gokuhara frowns thoughtfully at his cards.

Shinguuji hands him another card and takes one for themselves.

“Hit me,” Saihara says.

“Me too.” Hoshi huffs.

Saihara’s next card is a one of hearts, bringing him up to a measly thirteen. He curses internally. For a game he was forced into playing, he’s getting pretty into this.

Shinguuji, Gokuhara and himself all ask for another card. Hoshi chooses to stand.

“This early?” Shinguuji blinks. “Well, let's continue then.”

Saihara’s final card is a seven of spades. Twenty.

“I’ll stand,” he tries to hide his smile behind his card.

Neither Shinguuji or Gokuhara seem ready to end it though, leaving Saihara to sit in wait.

“It’s fascinating, really, how a simple game of chance can be so riveting,” Shinguuji comments.

“I wouldn’t call it a game of chance,” Hoshi comments. “There’s a strategy to it. You have to understand the odds.”

Saihara turns to him in surprise. Hoshi had said no more than absolutely necessary since he first sat down. He’d noticed the other man wasn’t one of the more talkative ones as it was, but even so today’s silence seemed heavier.

“Once you understand the odds, you have to make a decision. In blackjack, it’s hit or stand, in life, it’s keep going or give up...in here, it’s kill or be killed. The way I see it, we all have a decision to make from this point forward.” He takes a deep breath before rising from his chair, and scatters his cards over the table. “Twenty One. I win.” With a noise somewhere between a sigh and a laugh, he leaves the dining hall.

“Well,” Shinguuji says after a moment. “Would you care for some tea, Saihara-kun?”

Shinguuji, it turns out, makes some pretty good tea. Saihara and Gokuhara both accept a cup and follow them to the kitchen, Gokuhara to keep them company, Saihara because he was dragged along. When it’s finished brewing, they take it back to the dining table.

Saihara takes a sip of his, not caring about it’s heat. It has a pleasant, if unusual aftertaste that reminds him of flowers.

“I hope you don’t take any offence at Hoshi-kun's earlier remark.” Shinguuji places their own cup down, but Saihara can’t tell if they actually drank from it. Their mask is still on, in any case. “I believe that, despite what he wants us to believe, he may perhaps be taking our situation hard.”

Saihara raises an eyebrow. He’d be more concerned if Hoshi wastaking this situation _lightly_. It can’t be easy, for any of them. It hasn’t even been a full day and Saihara’s already felt like he’s falling apart multiple times. The only thing tying him together and pushing him forward now is the plan to catch the mastermind...and Akamatsu.

“Do you think so?” He asks. “He seems to be handling it. After all, you were all sat here playing cards as if nothing was wrong.”

Next to him, Gokuhara frowns. Saihara gulps ice, a startling contrast to the overly hot tea. _He said something wrong, he said something wrong, he said something wrong—_

“If you can’t relax, then all that stress you’re feeling is just going to explode. If you don’t take time for yourself, then the results won’t be pretty,” Gokuhara says.

Shinguuji nods. “I could not have said it better myself.”

...Huh. Now that he thinks about it, he knows they’re right. He used to stay up late into the night just so he could wind down a bit. But that was when he was living a normal life. Soul-sucking, dreary, but normal. Now, he’s been kidnapped, their lives are on the line here. No, he can’t relax here. He’s not just going to lie down and let someone kill him. Not when if he keeps working, he can get out of here. As long as he doesn’t quit, maybe, just maybe, before he does eventually die, he can die as someone who matters.

Out-loud he says “Thanks for the tea. I should get going.”

* * *

Not wanting to keep it buried in his pocket all day, Saihara places the camera in his desk drawer. The notebook and pen he leaves on top. He has no reason to hide them, not until he’s started writing anyway.

* * *

The next time he sees Akamatsu, she’s outside. As promised, she’s with Shirogane. To his surprise, Yumeno and Chabashira are sitting on the grass with them too. 

“Hi, Saihara-kun!” Yumeno waves at him, then quickly goes back to braiding Shirogane’s hair.

“Saihara-kun.” Shirogane smiles. “Wherever have you been?”

Her smile is bright, friendly, nothing like the one she boasted in the dorms last night. He wonders which one is her real smile.

“Around,” he shrugs. “I spoke with Shinguuji, Gokuhara-kun, and Hoshi-kun earlier.” Of course, that doesn’t account for his whole day. Almost his whole morning was spent with Akamatsu and Ouma, but after telling Akamatsu not to tell Shirogane that, he’s hardly going to tell her himself.

If she notices or cares about the gap of time, she doesn’t say so.

“Oh, those guys are nice,” Yumeno chirps. “Hoshi-kun gave me his strawberries at breakfast.”

Saihara nods, not really listening. Nobody seems to mind his silence. Chabashira is pretty quiet too, though they seem to to talk to her more than him.

He listens to them talk for a while, but he doesn’t learn much. It’s as if they’re purposefully talking about meaningless things, not quite trusting enough to talk about whoever they are outside this place. The conversation stops and starts, usually Yumeno is the one who picks it up again, or Shirogane.

The sun is high in the sky. It’s summer, he thinks. They’re probably not missing any school then. Saihara is probably missing shifts at work, but hopefully they’ll be understanding when he gets out and explains where he’s been.

It’s funny that the longest break he’s ever had is as a result of kidnapping. Funny, and maybe a little sad, but he doesn’t let himself dwell on that.

* * *

Hunger is an odd thing.

Technically speaking, the human body can go for weeks without food. Yet, if they’re lucky, humans will find themselves hungry enough to eat three times a day.

When you’re bored, hunger comes easier than ever. He doesn’t know how long he’s been sat outside by the others when Chabashira mentions offhandedly that she’s hungry. There’s no way to tell the time out here, without a clock. They don’t have their phones, and none of the students wear a watch. The sun is still out, but if it truly is summer, then that means little. It could be three p.m or nine p.m, and there’d be little difference.

“Saihara-chan? Are you going to come to the dining hall with us?” Yumeno asks.

He shrugs, but gets to his feet and follows them anyway. He’s not particularly hungry, but he has nothing else to do for now. It’s more useful to stick by the others than close himself up in his room, hiding himself away. They have a plan to catch the mastermind, but observing people could still be helpful. 

(Besides, Akamatsu is with them.)

They aren’t alone when they walk into the kitchen. Harukawa is rummaging through the fridge and Angie leans against the sink, watching her closely. There are already a few things scattered on the counter and a delicious smell wafting through the room.

“Hey!” Yumeno says excitedly. “What are you guys doing?”

“Hmm?” Harukawa hummed, looking up from what she was doing. There was a light brush of flour on one of her cheeks. “Oh, Angie-san told me she’s never had crepes before, so I decided to make her some.”

“What? How have you never had crepes before?”

Saihara has to admit he's surprised too.

“Angie, uh—” Angie nibbles at her thumbnail.

“I made enough for everyone, if you all would like some?” Harakuwa adds.

The others cheer, happy for the familiar snack and likely the fact they don’t have to cook for themselves. Out of the corner of his eye, Saihara notices the shy but grateful smile Angie directs towards Harukawa.

It’s then he realises that Harukawa’s offer had been more than that. It was also to save Angie from answering Yumeno’s question. The past of everyone here is a mystery to Saihara, to the others, and in at least once case even themselves. But it seems like Harukawa may at least know something about whatever happened in Angie’s life that made her the wreck she is. He files this information away for later, though he isn’t sure why it matters. It’s not like he plans to get to know these people. They’ll find their way out, and hopefully Saihara can go back to his life of relative solitude...with an exception.

At the dining hall table, everyone digs in. It’s another one of those moments. Moments where it almost seems like this could be a real school, like this is an everyday lunchbreak with friends, but there’s something off. It’s off because there are no other tables. It’s off because there’s silence instead of the chatter of students around them. It’s off because at his real school Saihara didn’t have people to eat lunch with.

The crepe is sweet on his tongue. Harukawa doesn’t look like she’d be much of a cook, but clearly that impression is mistaken. Unfortunately, he only manages two bites before his stomach groans in protest. He never was a big eater, and the anxiety looming over him doesn’t help his appetite.

“Akamatsu-san, would you like the rest of mine?” He asks. 

Akamatsu looks at him with a strangely stiff smile. “No thanks, Saihara-kun.”

“I’ll eat it!” Yumeno announces, already reaching for the plate. “Food is the only thing that kind of keeps my energy up...even if eating can be tiring.”

“You can have the rest of Tenko’s too, Yumeno-san! If you want it, that is…”

Saihara looks at Chabashira. Her food is still halfway to her mouth. She clearly wasn’t done eating, but still she hands it to Yumeno with no hesitation.

“Thank you, Chabashira-chan! You’re the best!”

Chabashira ducks her head, mumbles something under her breath. Yumeno smiles brightly at her. Saihara has to leave.

“I’m gonna go up to my room for a bit,” he says, and no one tries to stop him.

In the safety of his room, he grabs his notebook. First, he scribbles down their discovery in the library. Then, he makes notes about the plan he, Akamatsu and Ouma hatched, adding new details as they come to him. Finally, he makes a chart for all his “classmates”, recording his observations of them so far and even little arrows between them to indicate relationships. 

The first arrow is Yumeno and Chabashira. 

The second is Harukawa and Angie. 

Next, Gokuhara, Shinguuji, and Hoshi. They all seem friendly with eachother.

He takes great care drawing the arrow between him and Akamatsu, and then has to force his hand to draw one between Akamatsu and Shirogane. 

Finally, for reasons he’s not entirely sure of, he quickly adds one between himself and Ouma.

When he finishes his frantic writing, exhaustion hits him like a freight train. He doesn’t know why he’s so tired, considering his surprisingly peaceful sleep, but he lets his eyes close anyway. Maybe it’s mental exhaustion; surely he never had to think this hard before...or maybe it’s emotional, he ponders, Akamatsu’s strained smile flashing behind his eyes. 

Whatever it is, he lets himself drift off into sleep

* * *

He wakes up groggily, a dream slowly fleeting from his mind. By the time he’s truly awake, all he can remember is a flash of violet hair.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, he wonders what time it is. He doesn’t feel like he napped for long, but it would still be nice to know for sure. Figuring the best way to get an idea of it is to go find the others, he gets to his feet.

Outside the hallway windows, the sun is just beginning to set. A clamour of voices is coming from the dining hall, and he follows them with piqued curiosity. 

Inside, the scene is set for dinner. There’s plates and food on the table, and people sat all around it. However, the scene is disturbed by two standing figures, facing off against each other.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Momota yells.

“I— I apologise if I offended you.” Idabashi flinches.

“ _If?_ Fucking _if?_ How about you tell us shit about yourself before you go around judging us?”

“Geez, Momota-Chan, Are you gonna punch him?” It’s then that Saihara notices Ouma is here. For a moment he’s surprised, figuring they’d meet after dinner, but of course the other boy needs to eat too, and if there’s anytime it’s safe to leave the door unguarded it’s now when everyone’s together.

“I didn’t fucking ask you either!” Momota curses.

Saihara doesn’t interrupt. He just stands there, staring at the scene in front of him. Momota’s fists are clenched, and Saihara idly wonders the same thing as Ouma. However, just as he thinks this, Momota’s fists uncurl and he lets out a breath.

“Fucking...whatever. Let’s just eat dinner. I’m starving.”

As Momota sits down, Saihara snaps back to himself. Watching Momota and Idabashi fight, he didn’t know what to do other than just watch. Of course he doesn’t know what to do when a fight breaks out. He doesn’t even know what would have happened if he had gotten involved.

He sits in the only empty chair. It’s right next to Akamatsu. He wonders if she saved it for him, but can’t bring himself to ask. Instead, he asks a different, safer question.

“What was that about?”

Akamatsu shrugs, half-heartedly playing with her food. Saihara should probably find some food for himself too, he realises, but it can wait.

“I don’t know either. They were fine when I showed up, then I went to the kitchen and when I came back out they were fighting. I’m guessing Idabashi-kun said something Momota-kun didn’t like...he was probably trying to stir things up…”

Saihara blinks. “You think so?”

“It’s what the mastermind would do, right?”

Saihara gets two pieces of bread and a small bowl of soup from the kitchen. Only one slice of bread gets eaten. He’s about a quarter way through the soup before he gives up on that too. If he was at home right now, his uncle would scoff and ask why he bother buying his nephew food in the first place. Saihara would bite his tongue instead of reminding his uncle that he buys all his own food, that his uncle doesn’t even feed himself unless beer is considered a meal.

“Are you not going to finish your food, Saihara-kun?”

He pushes the bowl away from him “I’m not that hungry.”

“Oh no,” Shirogane stares at him, chin resting in her palm. “I hope you’re not feeling unwell? Is the motive weighing on your mind, maybe?”

“Not at all,” he says, though he feels like he could commit a murder right now. “Maybe you’re projecting.”

“Can we not fight?” Harakuwa asks, though it’s not a question.

“I just wanted to make sure Saihara-kun was okay.” Shirogane pouts. 

* * *

When everyone’s finished with dinner, Saihara and Akamatsu head down to the basement, led by Ouma. 

“Okay.” Ouma pulls a small, folded up piece of paper out of his pants pocket. “I divided the next few days up into shifts. Mostly, we each take watch for a few hours at a time. The only exception is night time. We don’t have alarms, except for the announcement, so it might be pretty difficult to wake up in the middle of the night. So, I figured it’s easier for one person to just take from the night time announcement until morning.”

Saihara looks down at the paper. His night shift is tonight, Akamatsu's tomorrow, and Ouma’s the day after. After that, there’s no plan written down, since it would go past the time limit Monokuma gave them until someone’s family member or friend were added to the game, and it’s very likely the mastermind would have to use their secret room then, if not before.

“This looks okay to me,” Saihara says. He doesn’t mind taking tonight’s watch. Since he’s already taken a nap today he’s not tired yet.

“Yeah, I love my sleep, but I guess it’s the best we can do,” Akamatsu agrees. 

“Great!” Ouma grins, getting to his feet. “Well, I’m gonna catch some Z’s, see you later!”

“I should get going too,” Akamatsu says, shooting Saihara a smile. “Goodnight, Saihara-kun.”

“Goodnight, Akamatsu-san.”

She leaves the door to the AV room open a crack when she leaves, so Saihara can still see into the hallway. He gets as comfy as he can and settles in for a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it isn't until editing that I realised how much of this chapter takes place in the dining hall...sorry if that seems repetitive?
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read, kudosed, and commented etc. I'll try and get better at responding to comments but know i really appreciate them!


	4. chapter one: together we stand, united they fall - daily life (part three)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll still alive? I hope so.
> 
> So some things
> 
> Obviously this is a canon divergence/AU fic. This means I can change whatever I want, mostly for plot reasons. I can also change other stuff less for plot reasons but more for convenience (guess the monokubz getting scrapped was another choice team DR made, rip). However there were a couple of very small...mistakes...I may have made because I simply forgot. I'm in the middle of a replay and have gone back to fix those things, so read again if you want but they really were really small. One of these mistakes was how the bookcase opened. Didn't change that one because I liked the scene I wrote. Blame team DR again.
> 
> On another topic, these characters are a mix of the ones in the prologue, the ones in the audition, and headcanons. The how and why of all that will be explained later, but there's reasons they aren't exactly the same as shown in-game. There's still plenty of character development and reveals to come.
> 
> That being said, please be alive and please enjoy.

It had been a long night of nothing. 

Being on watch wasn’t too bad. After all, he had nothing to do, other than to try to be as still and silent as possible. He managed the first few hours without difficulty; keeping his mind busy really wasn’t too hard a task. However, around three a.m, he’d started to get frustrated. No one approached the library doors. In fact, no one came down to the basement at all. 

Saihara hadn’t caught the mastermind. All he has to show for his night on watch is the bags under his eyes.

After the morning announcement plays, he gets to his feet. As much as he’d like to sleep, he’s also hungrier than he is most mornings, so at least his trip to the dining hall will be worthwhile. 

He’s one of the first people there, unsurprisingly. Since the announcement just went off, most of his "classmates" were probably still getting ready for the day.

The exceptions are Yumeno and Toujou. Both are sitting at the table, Toujou with nothing but a cup of tea and Yumeno with a bowl of cut up fruit. Yumeno sing-songs good morning to him while Toujou just nods. He offers a shaky good morning to them both before beelining to the kitchen.

The spread is much the same as it was for yesterday’s breakfast, though with the sheer amount of options Saihara can’t imagine anyone getting bored. He’s even hungrier than he thought, probably the result of being up all night mixed with the meagre dinner he’d had. He puts a generous serving of lightly grilled salmon and rice on his plate before heading back to the dining hall.

“So, do the paparazzi follow you around, like, all the time?” he overhears Yumeno ask Toujou. 

“Sometimes. Unless I’m with my parents, it’s usually only the sleazy gossip websites.”

“Huh? Why would the paparazzi be following you?” He asks her, sliding onto the table with his plate. 

“You don’t know?!” Yumeno’s eyes are wide. “Toujou Kirumi? Only child of Toujou Hiroaki and Toujou Amaya? Her parents are like, _super_ famous actors!”

Saihara has never been a huge movie buff but the names definitely ring a bell. He’s heard of them, and he thinks he can at least name a movie or two they’ve been in without having to think too much on it. Still, while Toujou has made it fairly obvious she's rich , famous hadn't occurred to him.

“Huh. I never made the connection.” 

“It’s quite alright.” Toujou sets her teacup down. “After all, they're the famous ones, not me. I don’t expect people to recognise me...actually, I prefer when they don’t.”

Yumeno’s shoulders slump. “Oh. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable then.” 

“Don’t worry, you didn’t. I just hate when people see my parents more than they see me.”

“Well, I promise I won’t do that!” She grins.

People begin to trickle in slowly. Yumeno’s attention is stolen entirely the second Chabashira walks in, and Toujou happily strikes up a conversation with Iruma. It’s only five or so minutes until the dining room is almost full...almost. 

“Hey. Where’s that scrawny looking guy? Y’know...Ouma?” Momota asks, though he doesn’t sound so sure on the name.

Ouma. Right. That’s who’s not here.

“You don’t think he’s…?” Amami asks.

“ _Dead_ ”, he doesn’t say, but they can all fill in the blanks.

“No...you don’t think someone really would, do you?” Chabashira asks quietly.

“I wish I could have that kind of faith,” Amami replies. “Maybe we should look for him?”

“I’ll happily join you,” Shirogane volunteers.

“Me too.” Akamatsu nods.

Saihara is about to offer his own help when Ouma comes strolling through the doors.

“I see none of you are dead,” He says easily and gives them a thumbs-up.

“Asshole.” Momota shakes his head. “We thought you were a rotting corpse somewhere.”

“Aww, were you worried about me, Momota-chan?”

“Shut up or I’ll kill you myself!”

Ouma’s smile drops into an impassive expression. “Is that really the sort of language you should be using in here? Someone might take you seriously, then who knows what will happen?”

“The hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“Quiet down, both of you,” Harukawa chides.

Surprisingly, they listen. Though maybe it’s not that surprising; Harukawa can be pretty scary when she wants to be. 

Momota turns back to his food and Ouma disappears into the kitchen, coming back with a plate that looks more syrup than pancake before plopping down next to Saihara.

“Where were you?” He can’t help but ask.

“Hmmm? Oh, I was just looking around the school again. Wanted to double-check there was nothing I missed.”

“Well?”

“Well what?” 

“Hey,” Akamatsu whispers to them, passing their spot at the table. “Meet me in the basement, both of you, so we can talk about you know what.”

She leaves before they can reply, probably heading down to the basement early to make sure no one else does the same for more disingenuous reasons.

Saihara wants to follow her, but Ouma asks him to wait. Impatiently, he sits as Ouma wolfs down his breakfast and then they both head off together, everyone else still occupied in the dining hall.

Akamatsu rounds on them the second they reach the bottom of the stairs. “What happened last night, Saihara-kun?”

He stares at the floor, meaning his face is even more obscured by his cap than usual. “Nothing. I was the only one down here all night.” He sighs.

Akamatsu tugs at her hair, clearly frustrated. “Great! Now he’s up there eating breakfast with everyone like nothing is wrong!”

“He?” Ouma questions. 

“Idabashi-kun, of course!”

“You’re really stuck on him being the mastermind, huh?”

“What? Do you think it’s someone else?”

“I just think we should keep our options open for now. If we get too hung up on one person, we might miss something.”

“There’s nothing wrong with having a lead! Besides, Saihara agrees with me!” 

“Saihara-chan, is that true?”

“I— uh.” On one hand, what Akamatsu is saying is true, he was the first to suggest Idabashi was the mastermind and he still thinks it’s likely. On the other hand, he does feel kind of uneasy about how convinced Akamatsu is. “I just think...what do we really know about Idabashi-kun? He’s strange and no ones had a chance to have a proper conversation with him.”

Ouma blinks. “I have.” 

Akamatsu pauses. “You mean Idabashi-kun has sat and spoke to you?”

“Yeah, once or twice.”

“Well, what did he say?”

Ouma smiles. “Not telling!” 

“What do you mean ‘not telling’?” Akamatsu demands. “This isn’t first grade!”

“It isn’t?” Ouma gasps,“But I wanted a smiley face sticker, Instructor Akamatsu!”

She laughs. “Come on, Ouma. You can just tell me, can’t you?”

“He didn’t say anything that would pin him as the mastermind, but I don’t think any mastermind worthy of being called a _mastermind_ would.”

Akamatsu huffs. “Whatever. Ouma-kun, I’m on watch until lunchtime right?”

“Yep, I come take over until mid-afternoon, then it’s you again until dinner, then Saihara-chan takes over until the announcement, then it’s you again on the night shift.”

Saihara blinks. “Aren’t I getting off easy? Both of you have two shifts, I only have one.”

“You took the night shift, so it seems fair. It will be the same for Akamatsu-chan tomorrow.”

“Great! I’ll see you at lunch then.” Akamatsu smiles at them and heads into the game room before either boy has a chance to respond.

“Well, Saihara-chan, we have the whole morning spread out in front of us. What are you going to do?”

Saihara suddenly feels lost— a floating body in a tumultuous and wide ocean. When Akamatsu hadn’t been around yesterday he’d found himself floating from place to place, waiting for something to hold him down.

If that’s his plan for today then he doesn’t know how to express it in words.

“If you’re not busy then let’s take a walk, shall we?”

He’s not sure if Ouma is throwing him a bone or if this is what he’s been planning all along. 

Either way, he accepts.

They don’t talk as they walk. It’s strange. He hasn’t known Ouma long, but the boy he does know is a chatterbox. Even the way he walks is different; looking ahead in a straight line, determined. 

Saihara doesn’t ask where they’re going, and Ouma doesn’t offer it. Saihara keeps his wits about him, but otherwise let’s himself be led. He has nowhere else to be, after all. 

It isn’t long (yet strangely it is) before they arrive at the warehouse. This only raises more questions in Saihara’s mind, considering they were just here yesterday. Then again, they don’t have many places to go.

Ouma doesn’t stop his determined stride when they enter the warehouse. He’s clearly here for something specific, though Saihara has no idea what that something would be.

Every aisle they pass makes Saihara wonder: Is Ouma here for a tools? for rope? Medication? Deodorant?

“Here they are!” He says excitedly.

Ouma is grabbing dry erase markers, one of every colour the “school” carries, until the pile in his hands is so big it looks like he could drop it at any moment.

“What are those for?” 

Ouma’s eyes flick from side to side, checking they’re alone, before leaning in too close and whispering in Saihara’s ear:

“I’m gonna draw dirty pictures on all the classroom boards.”

Saihara blinks. “All the boards here are electronic.”

Ouma pulls back, his face scrunched up in a frustrated pout. 

“Aw, well that just ruins my fun.”

Ouma pockets the markers anyway, and Saihara opens his mouth to comment, but Ouma shocks him into silence by grabbing his arm, hooking their elbows together.

“So where to now, Saihara-chan?”

“I— um— uh—“

“The dormitory? Sounds great. Let’s go.”

Ouma is pulling him. Saihara knows he doesn’t weigh much, but even so he can’t help but be surprised at how strong Ouma is for his small stature.

They breeze past the dining hall, too quick for Saihara to catch everyone inside, though there’s definitely still a group at the table. They’re outside before he even realises it, and the fresh air finally brings him to his senses.

“Can you stop pulling me?” 

Ouma either doesn’t hear or pretends he doesn’t, not letting go until they’re in the main area of the dorms, where he then drops his arm as quick as if it burned him.

“Well, thanks for walking me home, Saihara-chan. I’ll see you later.” 

By the time Saihara gets his bearings again, Ouma has already shut himself in his room, leaving Saihara standing there like an idiot.

At least no one sees him, he thinks...just before Momota’s door opens.

“Stickfigure?” Momota asks, as if that’s his name. “What are you doing here?”

“I— uh….”

“You know what, never mind…” Momota shakes his head, slapping Saihara on the shoulder when he reaches him.

“Can you meet me tonight? After the night time announcement.”

Saihara forces himself to glance into Momota’s eyes. The look he finds in them is serious and unfaltering. He flicks his eyes back to the floor, unable to handle it. 

“Why?”

Saihara’s throat, Momota choking the air out of it until he’s blue. Saihara’s skull, Momota bashing it in with a blunt object. Saihara’s chest, Momota thrusting a kitchen knife through it. 

“I just want to talk to you about something

Saihara’s motionless body in Momota’s dorm room. Saihara’s body being lowered into a shallow grave. Saihara’s body strung up for the world to see.

“Look, I’m not gonna kill you. We’ll be out in the open...and uh, we won’t be alone.”

Saihara pulls his mind out of the brutal images of his own demise, even if it’s hard to do, the rational part of his brain heavy under his dark thoughts.

“What do you want to talk to me about?” He asks.

“If I was going to tell you now, I wouldn’t be asking you to meet me later, would I?”

He racks his brain but he can’t think of what Momota would want him for except to kill... Alarm bells are blaring in every part of him. But, god, there’s a burning curiosity. He has an unanswered question, and it shoots straight to his chest, making his heart beat faster. He wants to solve this mystery, if he dies doing it, that seems inconsequential.

“Yeah. I’ll come.”

* * *

He passes the rest of the morning in his room. After Momota left the dorms, it was easy for Saihara to slink away into privacy, no one asking or looking for his time.

The only reason he leaves for lunch is because it’s the first time he’ll see Akamatsu in hours. He’d wondered briefly if them leaving their posts for meal times was too risky, but when he weighed the options he’d realised that not only if someone was missing from a meal they’d notice and could run back and catch them in the act, but that them not being there for meal times would turn suspicion to them.

(If anyone else there was even _thinking_. They all knew death was on the cards, but were doing nothing to prevent it. So what if they all said they wouldn’t kill? who trusts a stranger? who trusts anyone?)

(He trusts Akamatsu. She is not a stranger. He feels like he knows her, feels like they understand each other. There’s barely a moment he’s not consumed with thoughts of her, the only times he’s not he’s with…)

(Ouma...is necessary for the plan. That’s it. Maybe it is a type of trust, but it’s tentative, not like the link between him and her.)

Lunch. Hunger. Food. Watching and being watched in turn. Today, his plate carries a sandwich, a departure from his usual preferences.

Akamatsu enters the kitchen behind him. She places a sandwich on her plate. Her usual choice.

“How’d it go?” He asks under his breath. 

She raises an eyebrow at him. “Shouldn’t we wait for Ouma-kun?”

His skin prickles with something like jealousy. He smiles and tells her she’s right.

* * *

They stand on the bottom floor, their little v-formation starting to feel almost familiar.

“Anything to report from your watch?” Ouma asks Akamatsu.

Her chest heaves with a sigh. “Not a thing. Well, other than Toujou-san and Iruma-san hanging out in the game room for a while. They never came into the A/V room so they had no idea I was there.”

“And they didn’t go near the library?”

Akamatsu shakes her head.

Saihara doesn’t know whether that’s a good or bad thing. On one hand, it means he doesn’t have to face confronting the mastermind yet, an idea that scares him even though he knows it has to be done. On the other, it means even longer in this prison facading itself as a school, and longer living in mystery of who trapped them here.

(Somehow, it feels right that he hasn’t found them right.)

(Must be anxiety.)

Ouma is silent for a moment, seeming to think, then grins. “Well, good job, Akamatsu-chan. Guess i’ll take over from here.”

“Sorry more didn’t happen.” Akamatsu smiled. “But hey, It’s still early. Maybe we’ll have more luck later.”

Akamatsu doesn’t wait for Ouma’s response, instead beginning to walk away. Saihara hovers for a moment, unsure what to do, until Akamatsu turns to him.

“Saihara? Aren’t you coming?”

He almost trips over himself in his rush to follow her.

They walk in silence. Saihara keeps reaching for something to say, but nothing he can think of seems good enough. Akamatsu doesn’t seem deterred by the quiet. In fact, she seems to forget Saihara is there at all, instead walking ahead with determination. The scene is familiar, yet feels completely different.

He still hasn’t said anything when she grinds to a halt, apparently having reached her destination. 

They’re outside Amami’s dorm room.

She rings the buzzer. Ding. Dong. Ding. Dong.

Amami opens the door only a fraction at first. He doesn’t seem surprised to see them, so for a moment Saihara thinks he must have been expecting them.

“Akamatsu-san, Saihara-kun, what are you doing here?”

“Shirogane-san invited us over!”

Saihara couldn’t help but notice there were two things wrong with that statement. The first being that Shirogane had no right to invite them to someone else’s room without informing them, and the second being that he highly doubts Shirogane would invite him anywhere. 

“Shirogane-san is coming over?”

Update: there were three things wrong with that statement. Apparently, Shirogane also hadn’t told Amami she was coming to his room either.

If Amami is suspicious of any of these things, he doesn't show it, except in the fact that he still hadn’t fully opened the door. 

Akamatsu begins to answer him, but at that moment the door to the dormitory slammed from behind them and Shirogane waltzed in. 

“Oh, good! You’re already here, Akamatsu-san!” She smileds then drops that smile immediately as she turns to Saihara. “And I see you brought a friend. Well, the more the merrier,” She says, sounding notably unmerry. 

She turns to Amami, and her grin is back in place. “Amami-kun, aren’t you going to invite us in?” 

Amami pauses for a moment, head cocking in thought, before opening the door wide. “Come on in..”

...Seriously? He's just going to let three people into his room? Three people who showed up unannounced? Who outnumbered him? Into his dorm room, where no one else would be able to see what was going on? That's...incredibly stupid. 

“I know, I know, it’s rather reckless of me to let you guys in.” Saihara blinks. he hadn’t said any of his thought process out loud, but Amami seems to know just what it was. Maybe he has a little bit of common sense after all.

“What if we came here to kill you?” Saihara says, matter of fact. 

Amami chuckles. “What if?”

Once they’re all in the room, Amami closes the door behind them. Saihara takes a brief look around, but the dorm room is essentially identical to his own. There’s no personal touches, except for the same satchel he’d been carrying when they first met. 

_[“Well, yeah, it seems i’ve forgotten my entire life. The only reason I even know my name is because it was stitched onto my school bag. Still, doesn’t make me suspicious, right?”]_

That’s right, Amami has forgotten his entire life. Saihara hasn’t thought about it much the past day or two, busy with the mission to uncover the mastermind, but when he’s lying in bed it sometimes occurs to him to wonder what memories he’s forgotten. The more he thinks, the more there are...gaps. Sometimes hours, sometimes days, sometimes more. Is that normal? He thinks it must be. What memories would someone want to take from him? He’s no one interesting, never has been. What would he know that would need to be buried in this stupid game? Surely no one could expect this, no matter what kind of life they’d lived.

“Amami-kun?” he ventures. “What were you going to ask us? when we first met? You said “Have you ever heard of—“ then Iruma-san cut you off before you could finish. 

Amami smiles, as equable as always. 

“You know what? I don’t remember now. I’m sure it was nothing important, whatever it was. After all, what could a guy with amnesia know that the rest of you don’t?”

Saihara doesn’t know whether on not to believe that. His instincts tell him not to, tell him Amami is hiding something, but he isn’t sure whether or not to push it. Shirogane has made herself at home on the bed, apparently feeling completely at home.

Before Saihara can make up his mind, she yawns. 

“Wow, this is boring. Let’s talk about something else, like…” she taps a finger against her chin, then her eyes light up. “Amami-kun, what do you think of the motive Monokuma gave us?”

“You mean our loved ones being put into this killing game if there’s not a murder by tomorrow night? Well, like I said, I don’t even know if I have any loved ones I should be concerned about.”

“I know,” Shirogane says softly. “But in a way, isn’t that even worse? At least the rest of us know what to worry about. You...what if you have an ailing mother? Or grand[arents missing their grandson? Oh, what if you have twelve little sisters? I can’t imagine you’d want them in a place like this.”

“Twelve?” Amami repeats with a laugh. “Sounds like a bit much, don’t you think? Besides...no matter who’s out there, I couldn’t kill someone in here for the sake of people I don’t even know exist.” 

“I suppose that makes sense. How do we know if everyone else thinks the same though? That they wouldn’t kill someone in here for the sake of the people on the outside.”

“We don’t,” Akamatsu answers flatly. She’s sat on the bed too, perched on the side while Shirogane takes up the middle.

“Doesn’t sound like you trust the others much, Akamatsu-san,” Rantaro says. It’s half a question and half a statement.

“Should I? I only just met these people. People I’m much closer to have screwed me over in the past.”

“So you don’t trust anyone here? I’ll understand if you don’t trust me, we haven’t spoken much before today, and I know I must come off as suspicious, but what about these two right here? You’ve been spending a lot of time with them.”

“Saihara-kun is...special.” There’s a small smile on her face.

...Special? Akamatsu just said he’s special. She _smiled_ when talking about him. He was important to her, different than any and everyone else, just like she was to him. 

He can feel ecstasy crawling through his veins. He’s so happy right now he feels like he could explode. It’s...overwhelming. An-all consuming rush that leaves his head feeling full and warm and heavy. 

He makes sure to school his face into an impassive impression. It would look weird if he seemed too happy over such a little thing, right? Even though he is. Better to act unaffected. He doesn’t want to be looked at like he’s weird, doesn’t want to be looked at at all.

“Hey, what about me? Aren’t I special to you, Akamatsu-san?” 

Of course Shirogane would try to steal this moment from him, like she’s been trying to steal Akamatsu away from the moment they woke up in this academy. His euphoria slips away, consumed by something darker. 

“Do you want to be special to me, Shirogane-san?” Akamatsu asks with a smirk. 

Shirogane hits her with Amami’s pillow, giggling. “In your dreams.”

They keep talking for a while longer. Well, Shirogane and Akamatsu do, with Amami chipping in where he wants. Saihara is mostly silent. He doesn’t know how to do this. Doesn’t know how to sit and talk about normal things. Somehow, It’s easier for him to make plans to catch the mastermind of a killing game than it is to have a regular conversation. The longer he stands there silent, the more uncomfortable he starts to feel. Eventually, he slips out with a quiet excuse while they’re painting eachother’s nails.

Breathe in for four, out for seven.

“Saihara...kun?” He’s only just stepped back inside the main school building when his name is called.

It’s Idabashi, standing stock-still in the middle of the entrance hall, staring at him. Saihara tenses and reaches into his right pocket, only to find nothing there. What was he looking for? It doesn’t matter.

“Can we talk?” Idabashi asks him. 

_No_ , he thinks.

 _No_ , is what he wants to say.

But he has to be logical about this. Idabashi is the main suspect to be the mastermind. If he has a chance to get more information, he should take it. Not just for the sake of getting out of here, but for Akamatsu. She wouldn’t be afraid right now. He owes it to her not be afraid either. 

_(He is afraid.)_

But, clenching his teeth, he says “Yes.”

He worries that Idabashi will ask for them to go somewhere more private, but thankfully (and rather oddly) he just sits in the middle of the floor. There’s no one around, but someone could come round a corner at any moment and find them. That will have to be enough safety for now.

Unsure what to do, Saihara inches down to the ground as well. 

It’s silent for a moment. More than a moment, really, it’s probably minutes. Minutes that feel like hours. Idabashi is looking him right in the eye. Saihara pulls his cap further down.

“It is our objective to escape this school, correct?” Idabashi asks. 

_Haven’t they been over this?_

“Yeah.” 

Idabashi hums. “If we do escape, where do we go after that?”

Saihara pauses. He wasn’t sure where he was expecting the conversation to go, but it wasn’t here. Then again, he has no idea what to expect with this boy.

“I—well— home? Or, wherever we want, I guess.”

They’d established that many of them don’t really have a welcoming place to go home to. It's doubtful that many people are even looking for them. Does Saihara want to go back to his uncle? Not particularly, but it’s all he knows. His life is doing his homework at the beaten up desk in his tiny room, trying to make it through a day at school while being avoided by his classmates, and going to his minimum wage convenience store job. 

It’s nothing really worth going back to, but it's better than this. At least it's not crowds and strangers and kill or be killed.

“I...do not think I would like to go home. Being able to go wherever I want...that sounds nice.”

Saihara stops himself from quirking an eyebrow. “So...you want to get out of here with us?”

He waits for an answer. He can feel his own heart pumping in the silence.

“If that is an option, then yes, I think that is what I would like to do.”

So he doesn’t want them to stay here after all? Is this a sign he’s not the mastermind? Or is it a trick? Who _is_ Idabashi? 

“So...how do we leave, exactly?” 

_If we knew that, we wouldn’t still be here_. 

“Well, I don’t know yet. But I’ve been working on a plan.” Is that too much information? Probably not, right? Even if Idabashi is the mastermind, he knows they want out. “I can’t say much more, right now. But when It’s done, I’ll tell everyone.”

“Are you sure I can not help in any way?”

 _No way in hell_ , he thinks, _even if I trusted you, there’s already too many people involved._

He tries to be diplomatic. That’s the best way to deal with most things, even if it’s not necessarily what he wants. “Ah, thank you, Idabashi-kun, but I’m afraid...I already have a couple of people helping me...if too many people were involved, it would draw the attention of those who want to keep us here.”

_If we haven’t already._

“Very well.” Idabashi nods. He stands up, dusting off his school uniform. 

Saihara follows suit, more than ready for this conversation to finally be over.

“I believe we can get out of here, Saihara-kun. And after, we will be free. I-I have...hope.”

Saihara thinks that’s the first time he’s seen Idabashi smile. 

* * *

Dinner passed without much fanfare. Saihara had been late, having finally squeezed in a nap, but so were Akamatsu, Gokuhara, Hoshi, Idabashi and Shinguuji. After he’d ate, Saihara disappeared down to the A/V room for his shift. After dinner until the nighttime announcement.

It’s already 09:30p.m, and again no one had come down to the basement. It’s getting...frustrating. There’s only one night left until Monokuma promised to exact its motive, and other than finding the secret door they’re no better off than when they first heard about it. 

The mastermind has to visit the secret door once time is up, right? How else were they going to get someone’s supposed loved ones into the game. That room must lead outside, or at least where they’re hiding the friends and family. 

Sooner or later, he’ll catch them. He just...has to be patient.

Ten minutes passes, then another.

The last ten minutes of his shift are spent just waiting for the end. His back and legs are getting a little stiff from sitting watching the crack in the door. Besides, Akamatsu is the one taking over the watch after him. Maybe they can talk a little before he leaves. 

Two minutes. 

One minute. 

“Ahem...this is the night time announcement. It is now 10:00p.m. The Gym and Dining hall are now closed. Don’t forget though, this time tomorrow, if you haven’t said goodbye to one of your fellow students, then you better be prepared to say hello to a new one, so get killing!”

The announcement fizzles out, that awful bear disappearing from the screen, and still Akamatsu didn’t show up.

That’s fine, she's probably just running a little late. 

Two minutes late. 

Five minutes late.

...Ten minutes. 

Panic starts to swell in his heart. He hadn’t known Akamatsu to be this late for anything. What could be holding her up?

Catching the mastermind for their chance to leave this place is the most important thing they could do. Akamatsu knows this, she’s passionate in their mission, right? So where is she?

...Unless…

Unless something bad had happened to her. Unless someone is actually taking their chance...to kill…

 _No_ . He _can’t_ let that happen. Especially not to _her_.

If he leaves this spot then he’s leaving the library unguarded, but it’s a risk he has to take. With one agonising last look around the A/V room, he dashes through the game room and into the hallway. 

If a murder was taking place, where would it be? He has no idea, other than somewhere secluded, but that could be anywhere, especially at this time as most of the “students” retired to their dorm rooms once the night time announcement has sounded. Running through the halls, he sees Hoshi by the warehouse and grinds to a quick halt. 

"Have you seen Akamatsu-san anywhere?” 

Hoshi shakes his head. “Can’t say I have, no. Have you checked her dorm room? I was just about to head to mine, wouldn’t surprise me if she’d done the same.”

Saihara doesn’t respond and instead turns on his heel and runs. Hoshi is right, he should check the dorms first. Someone’s room would be a great place to kill them, provided the killer could get in. 

He barely registers the night air as he runs outside; he registers nothing but the sound of his shoes pounding against the concrete path. The dormitory is in sight, he just has to get there.

“Hey, Saihara-kun!” 

Who the _fuck_ is trying to talk to him right now?

A hand slaps his shoulder, and he spins around to find Momota Kaito in front of him. Next to Momota stands...Harukawa?

“You’re a little late. We’re gonna have to take care of that if tardiness is a problem for you. It’s a man’s duty to be on time, that’s what my dad always says.” 

Saihara’s head is spinning. By the time he remembers that he’d agreed to meet Momota after the night time announcement, he’s already wasted precious seconds. 

“I already told Harukawa-san the plan for the night, but I’ll go over it with you too. I figured we’d start with—“

“I don’t have time for this, Momota-kun!” Saihara snaps. 

“What the fuck? Look—“

"No, I _really_ don’t have time, okay? Akamatsu...Akamatsu-san is missing.”

“Wh-what? What do you mean, missing?”

“I mean missing! As in she was supposed to be somewhere at the night time announcement and she never showed!” 

Momota doesn’t seem to know what to say, and It’s making Saihara want to scream, but thankfully Harukawa steps in. 

"Let’s split up. Momota-kun, stay here and check everywhere outside. Saihara-kun, I’m guessing you were heading to the dormitories so I’ll leave that up to you. I’ll go check inside the school and ask anyone I see to help me cover more ground.”

Saihara nods. He’s thankful for her help, and her guidance, but there’s no time to waste as they all go their separate ways. 

The main hall of the dormitory is dark and devoid of any life. Quickly, he rings Akamatsu’s buzzer.

Ding. Dong. 

Ding. Dong. 

Ding. Dong 

The longer he goes without an answer, the more desperate he gets. 

Ding Dong. Ding Dong. Ding Dong. 

Ding Dong _Bing Bong_.

The monitor in the hall comes to life. 

“A body has been discovered! Will all students please gather at the library.”

He’s running before he even realises it. The cacophony in his mind grows louder with every second. It seems like the ground is swirling in front of him. The only clear thought in his mind: 

**_DESPAIR_ **. 

Then, like opening the curtains to a shining sun, he sees a sight he thought he’d never see again. 

Akamatsu is standing at the top of the basement stairs, miraculous and alive. 

“Akamatsu-san!” He cries, catching up to her. “I thought— I thought—“

“Me too.” She breathes. 

“Yeah, neither of you are dead, that’s great,” Ouma waves his hand dismissively. It’s only now that Saihara realises he’s been standing there the whole time. “Now can we go check who is?”

They rush down the stairs, back into the basement they’ve become so acquainted with the past few days. Is it really the same? It feels like the whole world has been flipped on its head. Saihara doesn’t know who pushes the library doors open, but he knows it’s not him. He’s not sure he could have. 

Inside the library, lying on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood, is Idabashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I make the first victim too obvious? Well, hey, gotta keep some danganronpa tropes...at least for now. I know we haven't gotten to the investigation yet, but any early theories please drop them below.
> 
> Next up, the moment i've been anticipating AND dreadind, writing my own investigation and trial. Hopefully, it's out soon.
> 
> Thank you so much to anyone who's read, kudosed and commented on this. I was nervous taking on such a big project for a fandom understandably not as active as it used to be, not to mention one I don't have any friends to cheer me on in, but as long as a few people are enjoying this that will keep me going.


	5. chapter one: together we stand, united they fall - deadly life (investigation)

People come running into the library, but Saihara barely notices. He’s captivated by the dead body on the floor, blood pooled around its head.

No, captivated isn’t the right word. He’s...he’s _transfixed._

He wants to get closer. He wants to see the look on Idabashi’s face. He wants to feel the blood on his hands. Will the skin feel cold, like it’s nothing but a porcelain doll, or will there still be lingering heat, the last vestiges of life slipping away? If he looks into the eyes, will he see anything behind them, or will it be like Idabashi was never there at all? The need to know, to see, to feel, is all he can think about.

Is there something wrong with him?

Right now, it doesn’t matter. Because this...this feeling...it’s better than anything he’s ever felt before. Emotion consumes him, but at the back of this mind he knows they aren’t the emotions they should be feeling. He isn’t horrified, he isn’t scared, he can’t pin down what he’s feeling, but all that matters is it feels so unbelievably _good_.

There are voices behind him. 

“He’s...Is he really dead?

“This can’t be happening!”

“What the fuck is going on?”

“I think i’m gonna be sick.”

Saihara wants to laugh. Of course this is really happening, and it’s...it’s…

“Saihara-kun!”

He inches closer to the body. 

“Saihara-kun!” 

So close, just a little bit more. 

“Hey, Saihara-chan, pay attention.”

It’s Ouma’s voice that slaps him out of his reverie...or, more accurately, It’s Ouma slapping him across the face. 

“I…” Saihara mumbles. “What’s…?”

“Welcome back to the real word. I’d say sorry about hitting you, but it had to be done. Your brain was god knows where.” 

God knows where indeed. What had he been thinking? What kind of reaction is that to a dead body? He feels disgusting, but he knows if he looks back he’ll still think the scene in front of him is...almost beautiful. 

“Idabashi-kun...the mastermind...do you think?” Akamatsu looks at him with, for what he thinks is the first time, hope. 

He knows what she’s asking without her having to say it: “Is the mastermind dead?”

Their biggest suspect is lying dead on the library floor, in the room they knew the mastermind would have to go to sooner or later. The hidden door stood covered by the bookcase. Had Idabashi come here to use it? If so, how did he end up dead? Did it matter, when they might be free now? 

“Monukuma hasn’t shown up,” he realises. 

“You’d think it would, right?” Ouma muses. “I’m sure that thing would just love to rub in or faces how...how someone’s been murdered.” 

“Maybe...It’s not here because there’s no one to control it anymore!” Akamatsu says brightly. 

Can that really be true? 

“Hmm, but, an announcement played. Monokuma told us to come to the library.” 

“Those could easily be automated. Even if it said the library, there could be an announcement prepared for everywhere in this so-called school.” 

She has a point there. But...Is it really that simple? Can he really start to...hope...like this?

“We’re free, Saihara-kun,” she whispers. 

The crowd in the library is talking amongst themselves, all trying to avoid looking at Idabashi’s body. Waves of shock, disgust, fear, and accusation roll through the air, and there’s no Monokuma to tell them what to do next.

“Everyone!” Akamatsu shouts. “Idabashi-kun was the mastermind.”

The conversations grind to a halt and all eyes turn to Akamatsu.

“What the fuck are you talking about?!” Momota shouts.

“Since when is there a mastermind?” Yumeno scratches her head. 

“Akamatsu-san? What are you talking about?” Shirogane asks. 

“He was the one controlling this stupid fucking game! And now...now we can all get out of here!”

A hush falls. 

“Get out of here? But the real game is just starting!” 

Saihara jumps, having almost convinced himself he’d never hear that voice again. For a second, freedom really did seem so close, but standing in the corner of the library is that damn robotic bear, a wide grin on its face showing every last one of its teeth.

“But...the mastermind is dead!” Akamatsu protests. “You shouldn’t be here!”

The bear growls, flashing its claws. Glinting in the low light, they’re frighteningly sharp, more like blades than anything.

“How many times do I have to tell you kids to stop going on about this mastermind nonsense? I don’t think any other class has been this obsessed with it! It gets dull y’know!” 

_Other class_? 

“Now, if you would all pay attention to your headmaster. As of this moment you will be given some time to investigate the cause of your classmates’s tragic demise, after which the school trial will be held. To prepare you all, I’ve got a generous gift for you! The monokuma file!

“Monokuma...file?”

“I have collected some basic information about the victim and the murder, and compiled it for your reading pleasure! I know, I know, you don’t have to thank me.” 

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Ouma mutters behind him. 

“Well, get investigating! Or don’t, you can do whatever you want, but the trial is going to happen either way.”

With that, the bear disappears, leaving sixteen panicked “students” in its wake. No, leaving _fifteen “_ students”. There’s one less of them now. It’s only when he realises that does it occur to him that he’d actually started to get used to the way things are around here. Now, everything has changed. If he wondered before, It’s obvious now; he can see it on the expressions of the people around him, can feel it in the oppressive atmosphere of the library. He almost thinks he can smell it; the smell of dust and mildew that once permeated the library is now drowned out by the sugary, metallic scent of blood.

“What do we do now?” Hoshi asks, staring at his shoes. One of his laces is coming undone, contrasting the other one with its sensible double knot. 

“Monukuma said we should investigate, right?” Iruma’s shoes are a pale brown that go well with the orange bow of her uniform. They have buckles and a slight heel.

“But, how are we supposed to do that? We’re just high school students…” Chabashira’s shoes are patent black, laces tied in bows. There’s a pattern on the side that he can’t make out from where he’s standing.

It occurs to him that it’s strange how they’re all looking at their feet, since he normally has to go so far to avoid unwanted eye contact, then he realises it’s so they don’t look at the body lying not metres away from them. 

How long can they avoid facing the truth?

“Look, I don’t give a rat's ass what that bear says. I’m going back to my room,” Momota spits. 

“I agree. This situation is quite...unpleasant.” Shinguuji shudders. 

“So you all want to die, is that it?” Akamatsu snaps. 

“Hey, I never said that!” 

“Well, It’s what’s going to happen if we don’t fucking investigate.”

“Akamatsu-san is right.” Chabashira says. “I...I don’t wanna die yet.” 

“Even if some of you did want to die, which hey, no judgement here, what about Idabashi-kun? Do you really want his death to mean nothing? When it looks so painful too!” Ouma smiles.

“What are you playing at, Ouma-kun?” Toujou raises an eyebrow. 

“Playing at? Nothing. I’m trying to avenge our friend who was brutally murdered, but apparently the rest of you don’t care about that!” He’s still smiling, but Saihara thinks he can sense the undercurrent of real anger there.

“Whatever. Let’s just...get this over with,” Momota concedes. 

“Hey, Saihara-kun,” Akamatsu says from beside him. “I don’t really know what to think right now. Idabashi-kun...part of me still thinks he must be the mastermind. But, until we figure it out, let’s investigate together.” 

“Together?” 

“Yeah! You, me, and Ouma-kun! We’ve made a great team so far, right?” 

“Uh, sure. I’d be happy to investigate together.” He’s not really sure what he’s saying, still trying to get his head around everything, but he can’t help but agree with her. 

“Well, count me out! I have something I have to take care of,” Ouma retorts.

“Something to take care of?” 

“Yep! It’s super important, but don’t worry, I’ll be back in time for the trial.”

“Wait, should you really be running off on your own?” Akamatsu asks, a little too loudly. 

Clearly, at least someone is listening in on their conversation, as Iruma and Toujou approach them.

“Actually, we were just talking about how we think we should all investigate with at least one other person. Otherwise, whoever did this could try and clean up the evidence,” Toujou states. 

“Yeah. What are you trying to hide, Ouma-kun?” Iruma crosses her arms in front of her. 

“I’m not trying to hide anything from you, Iruma-chan. In fact, I think you make a great point! We wouldn’t want anyone messing up the murder scene, now would we?” 

“In that case, wherever you’re planning to go, pick some loser to babysit you….not me though!” She adds in a rush. “Me and Toujou-san have already teamed up.” 

Ouma looks around the library with a calculated gaze. Eventually, he seems to come to a decision, shouting out to Gokuhara. 

“You’re not busy, right?”

“I mean...no?” 

“Great! Come with me!” 

Ouma strides back through the libraries main door, a confused Gokuhara trailing behind him. 

“Whatever. We don’t need him anyway. Right, Saihara-kun?”

“Uh, right.” 

What on earth could Ouma have going on that was more important than investigating? He was one of the ones pushing the idea just moments ago, so why is he running off? Were those just words? 

“So, what should we look at first?” Akamatsu asks. 

Not wanting to risk seeing the body again just yet, Saihara says the first thing that comes to his mind. 

“I suppose we should check the monokuma file, whatever it is.” 

“Can we really trust that, though? I mean, look who gave it to us.” She scoffs. 

“We’ll take it with a grain of salt until we’ve checked the evidence ourselves.”

That seems to appease her. He fiddles with the file, figuring out the controls, and slides through the information until he finds what he’s looking for. 

**The victim is Idabashi Kiibo.**

**The Estimated time of death is between 10:10pm and 10:25pm**

**The cause of death is a blow to the back of the head, resulting in fracturing of the skull and injury to the brain. There are no other visible or internal injuries noted, and there are also no traces of poison in the victim’s system.**

Kiibo, so that was Idabashi’s given name. Why had he never told them as much? Saihara feels like he’s learned more about Idabashi from this file than in the days they’d spent together. 

“The estimated time of death appears to be accurate,” he notes. “I left the A/V room at ten minutes past ten, and I couldn’t have been gone for more than fifteen minutes before the announcement played.” 

“Okay, that’s good. Maybe this file can help us after all.” 

“Akamatsu-san?” He says hesitantly. “Where were you?” 

Idabashi was killed when Akamatsu was supposed to be watching the library. She hadn’t shown up by ten minutes past, so Saihara had gone looking for her, fearing she was in danger, but if he’d just stayed and kept a lookout instead, maybe this murder never would have happened. 

“Oh, yeah, sorry I was late.” She chuckles. “Honestly, I was on the second floor, trying to open that door with the piano on it. I was hoping maybe it was a music room. I always liked to play, even though I’m not very good. Anyway, when I realised how late it had gotten I started walking back to the A/V room, but I hadn’t even made it to the basement stairs before the body discovery announcement sounded.” 

“Was anyone with you?”

That dark, hopeless look flashes over her face. “Are you doubting me, Saihara-kun?”

“Ah, no, of course not!” He stammers. 

He trusts Akamatsu. They’re a team, they’ve been working to escape together since they were both lucky enough to wake up in the same classroom. He doesn’t know what it will take for him to stop believing in her ( _he fears if he does, he’ll have nothing left_ ), but being late for her shift, even though it means she may not have an alibi, isn’t enough.

“No one was with me,” she sighs. “I’m sorry, I wish I had a better alibi, but that’s what happened.” 

“It’s okay, Akamatsu-san, you’re probably not alone in not having much of an alibi. We’ll ask everyone for theirs later. First, we should investigate the area though.” 

The most pressing point of investigation is probably the body, but he’s not ready to look at it again. What if he reacts like he did when he first set eyes on it, that blinding, sickening rush, that...that obsession. 

_What kind of person reacts to a dead body like that? Not with revulsion, but with something else entirely, something he isn’t sure what to call but knows isn’t right._

He doesn’t know what he’s looking for. The library, as crowded and dust-ridden as it is, is huge. What kind of things should he be looking for? A murder weapon? fingerprints? He spotted something off in the library the first time they came here, which eventually led to the discovery of the hidden door. He doesn’t know how he spotted it, but maybe if he just tries to do that again, he’ll find...something…

... _there!_

The sliding door of the library that he’d spent so long watching is wide open, even though he knows that when he left it was only open as wide as the broken A/V room door.

“Akamatsu-san, when we came down here after the announcement, by any chance do you remember anyone coming in through this door?” 

“Hmmm,” she ponders. “Now that I think about it, I only remember people coming in behind us from the same door we did, but I can’t be sure. When we got here, Harukawa-san and Iruma-san were already here, it’s possible they came through this door too.” 

Harukawa and Iruma must have been the ones who found the body, then. They’ll have to ask them about that later, for now, this may or may not be a clue.

Taking a closer look, he notices that in addition to the open door, the dust on the carpet in front of it has been disturbed and points this out to Akamatsu.

“Ah, you’re right!” She says. “It’s definitely not as dusty as it was before, and look at this kind of semi-circle shape here...I wonder what this could be.

The shape she’s referring to is a clear patch in the dust. Whatever it is, it doesn’t look like it occurred naturally.

Most of their “classmates” have left the library now. Hopefully, they’re still investigating, but he can’t concern himself with that right now. The only ones left other than him are Harukawa, who’s comforting a trembling Angie, as well as Toujou and Iruma, who appear to be talking amongst themselves. 

“Have you found anything suspicious?” Akamatsu asks the two of them.

“What?” Iruma grouches. “Not found anything yourself so you want to copy off our hard work?” 

“I was only asking.” She scowls. 

“That vent up there.” Toujou points to what she’s talking about. “I never noticed it before, but it looks like the grate has been taken off. That’s kind of strange, right?” 

“Yeah, it is. Have you taken a closer look?” Saihara asks. 

Toujou huffs. “No, can’t someone else do that?” 

“I...I guess I will, then.” 

The ladder that allows them to reach higher shelves is positioned right underneath the vent. Has it always been there? Or had someone moved it? Once Saihara reaches the top, he notices that the grate has indeed been taken off, and is placed on top of one of the piles of books. The space directly in front of the vent is suspiciously free of books. It’s also fairly clean, even though the books up here are absolutely layered in dust, even more so than the rest of the library.

The vent itself is rather spacious, enough that he can fit an arm through. He wonders briefly if a person could fit through there. Maybe one of their smaller members, like Ouma, but it’s doubtful someone larger could get through there safely.

He descends back to the ground, brushing his palms off on his school jacket once he reaches the ground.

“Well, does it appear to be part of the case?” Toujou asks.

“It could be part of the case, I’m not sure yet, but it’s definitely given me some things to think about.”

“Where does that vent fucking lead anyway?” Iruma asks. 

“Ah, you think that’s really important?” Akamatsu’s voice is soft. 

“Well, it fucking could be! What the fuck do you know, anyway? Have you two idiots found any clues?” 

“Where the vent is connected to might be something we should look into, Akamatsu-san. Iruma-san is right.” 

Iruma preens. Akamatsu huffs. Saihara ignores both of them and returns to his search.

It surprises him how easily he’s slipping into the mindset of investigating and finding clues, but as morbid as it is, he’s actually finding it quite relaxing. In a situation like this, it’s a blessing, so he allows himself to just go with it and not feel guilty. 

He and Akamatsu circle the library a few times, but eventually he has to accept there’s nothing else to find without...getting closer to the body. Even the ladder had felt a little too close, being just inches away from Idabashi, but Saihara had still been able to avoid looking at him. Now, he’s going to have to face it. He just hopes he can keep himself under control. 

He starts with the surrounding area instead of the body itself, putting it off just that little bit longer. Idabashi is positioned between the ladder that goes up to the vent and one of the shorter bookcases. The top of that bookcase has quite a bit of blood on it, mostly collected around the edge and dripping down the sides. There’s a book lying open next to the body, inspecting it, he notes it’s rather damaged, with bent pages and a beaten up spine. 

“Saihara-kun, we have to look eventually.” Akamatsu states. 

She’s right. Of course she is. 

Steeling himself, he turns to the body. It’s even more of a sight up close. Idabashi is lying on his back, his head resting on a backsplash of blood. The cap he came off at some point and sits off to the side, beat-up and blood soaked. 

There’s rope tied around Idabashi’s torso, pinning his arms to his side with two knots tied on top of eachother, and a smaller piece tying his ankles together the same way. 

“I wonder where the killer got this rope?” Akamatsu muses. 

“I saw quite a bit of rope in the warehouse, so i’d imagine it came from there.”

The question in his mind is less where the rope came from, and more why it was used. Taking a closer look, he realises just how much blood has been lost; it’s trickled all the way down Idabashi’s arms, disappearing under the rope before continuing the journey, stopping just short of his hands, mixing with...is that more dust? Looking closer, Saihara decides that is definitely dust on Idabashi’s palms, and quite a lot of it too. 

“Shouldn’t we check out the wound?” Akamatsu asks. 

The monokuma file states that the cause of death is a blow to the back of his head, and given the position of the body they can’t see it right now. Saihara is scared to actually touch Idabashi though. He’s managing to hold back his compulsive thoughts for now, even though he can still feel them at the back of his mind; he’s scared he won’t be able to keep the same control if he does more than just look. 

Akamatsu, at least, seems to have no such concerns, as she props Idabashi onto his side, bringing the back of his head into view. 

The wound is fairly small, but looks pretty deep. It’s jagged shape comes as a bit of a surprise; it’s almost...triangular. 

“What could have done this?” He asks out loud. 

“Whatever it is, the killer must have gotten rid of it. I can’t see anything around here that could act as a murder weapon.” 

“Would you mind laying him down again? I think that we’ve seen all we can here.” 

Akamatsu does as he asks, and he gratefully averts his eyes from what’s left of Idabashi. 

He still has no solid theories, not really. Hopefully that will change when they get a chance to question everyone. 

They start with the few people left in the library, heading over to Harukawa and Angie. The latter girl is sat against one of the tall bookcases, as far from the body as she can physically get without leaving the room. She still seems a bit of a mess, but she’s not shaking quite as badly as she was earlier. Harukawa is sat next to her, patting her shoulder, and is the only one that notices them approaching, Angie seeming lost in her thoughts. 

“Sorry I can’t be more helpful in the investigation. Angie-san understandably isn’t taking it well, so I couldn’t leave her alone.”

“We’ll let you get back to her. We just have some questions first.” Akamatsu states. “The monokuma file mentions the estimated time of death, can you tell us what you were doing during that time?”

“Between 10:10 and 10:25p.m, right? Well, when the night time announcement sounded I met up with Momota-kun in the courtyard. Saihara-kun saw us there at...probably around 10:13. We talked for a few minutes, before splitting up. After that, I went into the school to look for you. The first person I saw there was Iruma-san, who was just leaving the dining hall, so I asked her to help me. We did a quick search of the first floor, then the second, before going down to down to the basement, where we found Idabashi-kun’s body.”

“Just the two of you?” Saihara interjects. 

“Yes, why?” 

There’s something off about that…

“What about you, Angie-san? We need to know where you were as well.” Akamatsu turns to the other girl.

Saihara doesn’t miss the glare Harukawa shoots them.

“Huh?” Angie blinks. “Oh, well...Angie was in her dorm room.”

“It’s true,” Harukawa adds. “Before I headed out to the courtyard I knocked on her door and explained where I’d be if she needed me.” 

“But you can’t confirm that she stayed there?” 

“I can until I left the courtyard. I would have noticed anyone coming out of the dorms.” 

“But not after?” 

Harukawa sighs. “I suppose not, no.” 

“A-Angie is sorry," Angie says, bursting into tears. 

“It’s okay, Angie. Just relax,” Harukawa soothes. 

Feeling uncomfortable, Saihara decides to leave them to it and Akamatsu leads them over to Toujou and Iruma.

“You want to know where we were at the time of the murder, correct?” Toujou says, before they even ask. “Well, I was in the dining hall, having some tea. Shinguuji and Gokuhara-kun were there too, as were Iruma-san and Shirogane-san, though Iruma-san left earlier than the rest of us and Shirogane-san popped to the bathroom for a few minutes.”

“As soon as I left the dining hall, I was dragged into looking for Akamatsu-san by Harukawa-san over there though. Hey, where the fuck were you anyway?” She jabs a finger into Akamatsu’s chest. “I wasted valuable time looking for you and you aren’t even the bitch who ended up dead.”

“Harukawa-san says it was just you and her who found the body, is that right?” Saihara attempts to get the conversation back on track.

“Yeah, that’s right.” 

“And there was no one else here when you arrived?” 

“Not unless you count the dead guy.” 

“And...did you notice anything strange when you entered the library?”

She rolls her eyes, but then seems to think of something. “Yeah, actually. You see that bookcase there? Well, when we came in, it was moving. Like, swinging back into place. I think there was a door behind it, maybe? I don’t actually know, I got pretty fucking distracted by the corpse. It was some weird shit, though.” 

He shares a look with Akamatsu and without responding to Iruma she drags him out into the hallway. 

“The secret door, Saihara-kun!” She whispers aggressively. 

“I know. It must have been used.” 

“Maybe Idabashi-kun wasn’t the mastermind, but he must have been killed by them!”

It’s a possibility, and it makes a lot of sense. Who is more likely to commit the first murder than the person who wanted this game in the first place? But...he’s not sure if all the evidence matches up.

“I’m still thinking of all the possibilities,” he says, trying not to wince at her frown.

They talk to all the people still scattered around the basement floor, but nothing useful comes up. It seems most people haven’t found much.

After that, they head up to the first floor. Saihara isn’t really sure where to look next. The library is the scene of the crime, so where else could be important? 

“Boo!” 

“Ahhh!” 

He had been too deep in his thoughts to notice Ouma popping his head out the door of the classroom at the top of the basement stairs. 

“That’s not funny,” Akamatsu says dryly. 

Ouma ignores her. “Saihara-chan, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” 

_You’re the one that ran off earlier._

“Come on, Saihara-chan, let’s talk!” Ouma moves to grab his arm and drag him into the classroom.”

“Ouma-kun!” Akamatsu chides. “Please, we’re trying to investigate.” 

“Investigate in here, then.” 

“This room has nothing to do with the case!”

The fight goes on, but eventually Ouma gets his way and the three of them convene in the classroom with Gokuhara. 

Something shiny in the corner of the room catches Saihara's eye.

“Is this...a shot put ball?” He asks. 

“Yeah.” Gonta crinkles his brow. “No idea what it’s doing here. Ouma-kun was...well, he dragged me in here, and there it was next to the vent.” 

The vent! This must be where the one in the library connects to. Interestingly, the grate of this one has been removed too, flung to the side. 

“Honestly, I don’t know why the vents are so big here. It’s like another world.” Ouma crouches down next to him, sticking his head in the vent before shouting “Hey, you left your shot put ball!”

The sound echoes clearly and Ouma sits back with a satisfied smile. 

“Ouma-kun, where were you during the estimated time of death?” Saihara asks. 

Ouma blinks. “I’m not telling you.” 

“...Excuse me?” 

“I don’t like to lie, Saihara-kun, not when it's something serious. So I’m simply not going to tell you.” 

...What the fuck? What is Saihara supposed to do with that!

_Killer? Murderer? Killer? Murderer? Killer? Murderer? Killer? Murderer? Killer? Murderer? Killer? Murderer?_

“Don’t worry, Saihara-chan. Everything will become clear at the class trial.” Ouma grins. 

Saihara is still trying to find what to say when the monitor in the room flickers to life. 

On-screen, the bear sits in a chair, tapping it’s claws on the desk in front of it. 

“Eh, I’m getting bored.” It shrugs. “Your time to investigate is up. Please make your way to the shrine of judgement where the class trial will commence.” 

The monitor cuts off, leaving only a black screen and scared teenagers in its wake. 

_It’s starting._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you mean I updated in less than a week? sounds fake but okay


	6. chapter one: together we stand, united they fall - deadly life (class trial)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: i’m worried I won’t be able to make the class trial a decent length chapter  
> The class trial chapter: longest in this fic so far by about 5k

Saihara doesn’t remember the walk to the shrine of judgement. He blinks, and the next moment he‘s there. If he’d been aware of his actions, would he have rushed here to get it over with, or would he have savoured it, enjoying a few precious moments of peace?

The rush of the waterfall is the only sound filling the air. Even once everyone’s arrived, they don’t have much to say. They’re all just _waiting_. The longer that ticks by, the more it seems taboo to break the silence. Saihara certainly isn’t brave enough to do so.

“This is taking too fucking long.” Iruma, it seems, does not have the same concern. 

“What exactly are we waiting for, anyway?” Gokuhara asks.

“Presumably, this is where the class trial will be held. I suppose we are just waiting for Monokuma to begin?” Shinguji says.

“Here? Pfft, you kids make me laugh.” Monokuma pops up out of what seems like nowhere. Should he be concerned that that’s not alarming anymore? “This place doesn’t deserve to hold the first class trial of the semester. This is an appetiser! You wouldn’t fill up on potstickers before the pizza gets there!”

(“what kind of combination is that?” Chabashira snarks under her breath.)

“So where are you taking us?” Shirogane asks.

“Ahem! Please direct your eyes to the handsome statue in front of you. I will be waiting for you in the trial grounds.” Monokuma vanishes. 

A distant rumbling, and with no other warning the Monokuma statue on top of the fountain starts to slowly sink into the ground. Under the rumble Saihara didn’t notice the waterfall stop, but it disappears too. Instead, a pair of large metal doors comes into view as a pathway forms, granting them a way across the water.

“What the fuck was that about?” Momota frowns

Yumeno beams. “Cool! It’s like a magic trick!.

“That bear seems to have quite the flair for the dramatic.” Shinguuji sighs. 

Just how much money went into building this place? A set-up like that just for revealing a set of doors had to cost a lot. It could probably pay off his and his uncle’s rent for a good few months. That’s not mentioning the rest of their prison, or the prices of things like Monokuma and the Exisals. Just who set all this up? 

Maybe they can figure it out in the class trial. 

(he hopes they can) 

~~(he knows somewhere deep inside him that they won’t)~~

A few shaking steps later and they’re all inside the elevator. It’s surprisingly spacious, which Saihara is grateful for; he’s always hated things like elevators and public transport that pack the people in like sardines, all forced to look at one another and brush shoulders.

He carves out a corner of the elevator for himself, only letting Akamatsu into the little bubble he’s built. As the elevator starts to descend, she smiles nervously at him.

“What do you think is gonna happen down there?”

“I...I don’t know,” he answers honestly. 

“I know this trial is to figure out who murdered Idabashi-kun, and obviously that's important, but I think what we should really be focused on is weeding out the mastermind. We’ve worked so hard, it doesn’t seem right to let ourselves get distracted.”

“But we have to solve the case,” he protests weakly. “If we don’t, we’ll all die.” 

She fixes him with a steely gaze and a shudder runs down his spine. “If we expose the mastermind, then what are they going to do against all of us? If we work together, we can do this. Just promise me you’ll remember what our real mission is here, no matter what anyone says.”

He says “I promise.” 

It might be a lie, but as long as it makes her happy that’s all that matters.

After the long ride, the elevator finally shudders to a stop. The doors groan as they open— to Saihara’s ears they sound like the gates of hell. 

The sight before them is both unexpected and not— because in this place he’s come to expect things outlandish and borderline nonsensical. The large room is a twist on a courtroom, with Monokuma sitting high above like a judge. There’s no space for a jury, or benches for people to view the proceedings, just a circle of sixteen podiums. Checking the podiums, they seem to be assigned via the touch screen interfaces, each showing a different name. Saihara sends one last look to Akamatsu before heading to his podium. He’s sandwiched between Iruma and Momota...could be better, but could be worse.

“Hey man, you ready for this?” Momota asks. 

The podium on the other side of Iruma remains empty even as everyone takes their places. Standing where a person should is a black and white photo, crossed out in red. 

“I’m not really sure,” he says. “How do you prepare for something like this?” 

“Well, like I said, you may be scrawny but you seem smart, and for once that may actually be more important than strength. So, let's get through this and then meet me tomorrow and we’ll work on what really matters.” 

Saihara has no idea what Momota is talking about, but he’s interrupted by Monokuma before he can even ask. 

“Ahem! Now then, let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial. During the trial you’ll present your arguments for who the culprit is and vote for ‘whodunnit’. Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person… I’ll punish everyone _besides_ the blackened, and that person will graduate from this academy! Also, refusing to vote will result in your death, so you better vote for someone! Now let’s get this crazy, awesome, crazy-awesome trial underway!”

“How exactly are we supposed to proceed?” Shinguuji questions. “This does not seem like any trial procedure that I’ve heard of.” 

“I don’t suppose anyone here has any experience with trials?” Ouma asks. 

“Only as the defendant, once or twice. But what are we now?” Gokuhara says.

“Wait, the fuck did you do to end up in a trial?” That’s Momota, enthusiastic and demanding as ever. 

“I may have had some anger issues when I was younger, so I got in a few fights. It’s...I’m not proud of it, but I swear I’m trying to do better now.” 

“Dude, that’s so cool! Fuck doing better, whatever that means. We should throw down some time!” Momota shoots him a thumbs up. 

“My parents have both played lawyers a few times.” Toujou shrugs.

“We’re not just lawyers though. We’re playing every role in the legal system here. Judge, Jury, and executioner...not to mention culprit,” Ouma says.

“Well, since none of us really know what we’re doing, let’s just pick a place to start and try our bests to have a proper discussion,” Harukawa suggests.

Akamatsu squares her shoulders. “I have a place to start! I have reason to believe Idabashi-kun was killed by the mastermind.” 

“You mentioned a mastermind earlier as well, but what the fuck does that even mean?” Iruma grumbles. 

“Someone must be behind this killing game. Someone set all this up, created this place, kidnapped us, and planned for us to murder each other.”

“Didn’t Monokuma do that? It’s the one in charge, right?” Momota scratches the back of his head.

“Well, Monokuma is just a robot,” Saihara says nervously. “Someone had to create it, right?” 

“Huh. Well, I don’t really know much about stuff like that. That’s nerd shit.” 

“I don’t disagree that there is mastermind. But, what makes you believe it’s one of us, exactly? Surely it wouldn’t be safe for the mastermind to get involved in their own game,” Toujou argues. 

“Saihara-kun, Ouma-kun and I found a door in the library. Hidden behind the central bookcase at the back of the room is a door— half black and half white— that can only belong to the mastermind. Why would they need a secret place in the school if they weren’t here.”

“Perhaps they are outside the school, but have that door for emergencies?” Shirogane posits.

“Then why hide it? The only reason it would be hidden is if they need to use it in secret, and I can’t imagine it’s easy to keep an emergency a secret.” 

“In addition to that, I asked Monokuma about the mastermind on our first night here, when it was explaining the dorm room key to me. I asked why the mastermind wouldn’t show their face, and it implied that they already have,” Saihara explains. 

“That does seem to point towards the mastermind being one of us.” Shinguuji nods. “However, what makes you so sure that the mastermind is the one responsible for Idabashi-kun’s demise, Akamatsu-san?” 

“Well, it did happen in the library…” Gokuhara says.

“But the library is open to everyone, just being there isn’t a sign of guilt,” Hoshi argues. 

“Maybe she saw something?” Yumeno suggests.

“Or maybe someone else did?” Chabashira wonders.

“That’s it. When me and Saihara-kun we’re taking testimonies, Iruma-san mentioned something to us.” 

“I did?” 

“You did,” Saihara confirms. “When you were telling us about discovering the body, you mentioned that you noticed the bookcase that the secret door is hidden behind swinging shut.”

“Oh, right, that. Well, yeah, I saw it moving. I didn’t really pay attention, since Idabashi-kun was lying there dead and all.” 

“I remember seeing this as well,” Harukawa interjects. “I thought perhaps I was imagining things, but now that I know the bookcase does actually move then I suppose what I saw was real.” 

“Wait a minute,” Ouma holds his hand up, calling for silence. “Harukawa-san, Iruma-san, are you sure you’re the only two people who saw the body?” 

“Yes, why do you ask?” 

“And after you two found it, the body discovery announcement played?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well.” Ouma laughs. “That’s suspicious.” 

“And what exactly is suspicious about it, you little runt?” Iruma shouts. 

"It's something that was pointed out to us on our first day here, remember?"

“He’s right,” Saihara realises. “It occurred to me that just two people discovering the body was odd, but I couldn’t remember why until now. It states in the rules section of our monopad that a body discovery announcement will play only once _three_ people have discovered the body.”

He could see his ‘classmates’ mulling over his words, all eventually coming to the same realisation Ouma and himself had.

“So before Harukawa-san and Iruma-san found the body, someone else did too?” 

“Yes, and they must have left before Harukawa-san and Iruma-san got there.” 

“And they didn’t tell anyone?” Yumeno asks. “That’s horrible!” 

“Maybe they simply didn’t get a chance to?” Harukawa suggests. “If you saw the body before the two of us did, can you please let us know now?” 

No one says anything, all glancing around the circle instead. 

“We won’t be mad or anything, but we need the facts so we can correctly solve this case,” Saihara says. 

Still, there’s nothing but silence. 

Why would no one come forward? Unless…

Ouma reaches a conclusion the same moment he does “Monochristmas, does the ‘three people discover the body’ rule count for the murderer?” 

“It’s Monokuma!” The bear fumes. “And if you’re asking if seeing the body of the person you murdered counts as a discovery, no. Well, there are are exceptions. For example, if three people discovered a body at the same time and one of them was the blackened it would be obvious one of those three is the killer and ruin the class trial, but that doesn’t apply in this case.” 

So then…

“What about the mastermind?” Akamatsu rounds on Monokuma. 

“Uh...Wuzzat?” 

Akamatsu glares. “Is the mastermind included as a person who could trigger the body discovery announcement?” 

“Well...that’s...uhh…” If Saihara didn’t know any better, he’d think Monokuma was sweating. 

“It’s a yes or no question!” Momota shouts. 

Monokuma sighs. “All official students of The Ultimate Academy, provided they are not the blackened, count towards the body discovery announcement, okay?” 

“So is the mastermind an official student?” Saihara asks. 

“Are any of us official students? In case you haven’t noticed, we’re not learning anything.” Chabashira remarks.

“You are all official students of this academy, and I would appreciate it if you did not insult this fine institution again! Don’t forget I still have the exisals at my disposal!”

“Which means that yes, the mastermind counts,” Saihara concludes. “Between the moving bookcase and the body discovery announcement, the only conclusion is that the mastermind was at the scene of the crime.” 

“Yeah, they went through that door and saw Idabashi-kun's body first!” Momota slams his fist on the table. 

“And they’re not coming clean now because then we’d know they’re the mastermind,” Hoshi adds. 

“And we’d know they fucking killed Idabashi-kun!” Momota says passionately. 

“No, that’s wrong." Saihara says. “Monokuma just said that the culprit isn’t included in the body discovery announcement, which can only mean that while the mastermind saw the body, they didn’t commit this murder.” 

He looks at Akamatsu as he says this, trying to gauge her reaction. Surprisingly, she doesn’t show much of one at all. The only thing he can say for certain is that she’s thinking, though he doesn’t know what about. 

“Oh yeah, guess I forgot that.” Momota shrugs.

“It was said like literally five seconds ago," Ouma says, bewildered by Momota's terrible memory. 

“So, if the mastermind is not the killer, it seems we are back at the beginning of our discussion,” Shinguuji observes. 

“Yeah, what a waste of time. Thanks for that, Akamatsu-chan,” Ouma says rudely.

“If we catch the mastermind, we won’t have to catch the killer!” She argues. 

“And what? Escape with a murderer?!”

“Pfft, just get to solving the case already! It’s boring if you take too long, and this trial ends whenever I please,” Monokuma goads from above them. 

He does understand why Akamatsu is so set on the mastermind, but for now they have to work with the cards they’ve been dealt. Like it or not, the murder is their pressing issue, and if they live through this then the two of them can continue their mission.

He doesn’t say any of these thoughts out loud. He promised. Luckily, he’s not the only one thinking this way. 

“L-let’s just just focus on the murder, for now, if that’s okay?” Angie chimes in.

She looks a bit better than she did when Saihara last saw her at the library. She isn’t shaking anymore, and some colour has returned to her cheeks. Hopefully she makes it through the trial without breaking down again.

“Yeah. We can come back to the mastermind later though, Akamatsu-san!” Yumeno says cheerily.

“What Yumeno-san said,” Chabashira agrees.

Akamatsu’s face is blank, but she doesn’t fight back, and eventually even smiles slightly. “Of course, whatever the group wants.” 

“So, where do we start?” 

“I think our alibis sound like a great place to start,” Ouma says quickly. 

“Like...where we were at the time of the murder, right?” Momota asks. 

“Yes, between 10:10p.m and 10:25p.m, according to the Monokuma file,” Saihara confirms. 

“Well, that’s easy. I was out in the courtyard with Harukawa-san. You saw us there, right Stickfigure?”

 _That’s still not my name_.

“Ah, I did. But we split up after that, right? Probably around 10:17p.m?” 

“Oh yeah. Well, I was just walking around the courtyard area after that until I heard the body discovery announcement.” 

“Can anyone confirm that?” 

“I didn’t run into anyone...but hey! That doesn’t make me fucking suspicious, alright?!”

Saihara ignores the “it was you who sent me out looking for your damn girlfriend anyway” that Momota mutters under his breath and lets Harukawa speak.

“Anyway, Like Momota-kun said, he and I were in the courtyard, then separated. I went into the school and ran into Iruma-san pretty much straight away, and she kindly agreed to walk around with me.”

“Yeah, and before Harukawa-san dragged me along with her I was in the dining hall. I can’t have been alone for more than a minute at most.”

Toujou is next to offer up her whereabouts. “I was in the dining hall drinking tea. Shinguuji, Gokuhara-kun and Shirogane-san were all there as well, as was Iruma-san before she left.” 

“But you weren’t all together the whole time, right?” Akamatsu questions. “You said earlier that Shirogane-san went to the bathroom.” 

“It was only the bathroom!” Shirogane defends herself loudly. “Not that I want to share my personal bathroom habits with the world, but it was just a quick trip.”

“That’s true, she was back in no time at all.”

“Let’s just move on…” Saihara says, pulling his cap down. 

“Well, I hate to be that guy, but I was alone in my dorm room the whole time.” Amami chuckles uneasily. “Seems like even though I say I’m not suspicious the world is against me.”

“Angie was in her dorm room as well,” Angie adds quietly.

“I went to her room at 10:00p.m before meeting with Momota-kun and she was there.” Harukawa says. 

Yumeno goes next. “I was in my dorm room too. Chabashira-chan was with me.”

“Just talking! We were just talking!” Chabashira clarifies in a hurry. 

_No one was presuming otherwise until you said that._

“I was in the warehouse. Saihara-kun ran into me just before I was about to go in, but after that I didn’t see anyone until we all met up in the library.”

Gokuhara and Shinguuji both back up Toujou’s statement about them being in the dining hall, leaving only himself, Akamatsu and Ouma to explain their alibis. 

“At around 10:10p.m I started looking for Akamatsu-san. I ran into Hoshi-kun by the warehouse, then Momota-kun and Harukawa-san, then I was in the main room of the dormitory until the body discovery announcement.” 

“I was on the second floor, investigating the academy a bit more. I was supposed to meet Saihara-kun at the nighttime announcement, like he said, but I lost track of time for a while there. I was on my way to meet him when the announcement sounded.”

“The second floor?” Iruma raises an eyebrow. “Me and that pushy bitch over there looked for you up there and didn’t see you.” 

Akamatsu’s smile falters. “I guess by the time you checked up there I was already on my way to meet Saihara-kun.”

“We did search it after the first floor, so I guess it’s possible we just missed each other,” Harukawa says. 

“Hey, I’m not done questioning this bitch yet!” Iruma yells. “Where were you and the socially awkward loser supposed to have this little meeting?” 

“The A/V room. We’d been taking shifts to watch the library from there in an attempt to catch the mastermind. His was supposed to end at the night time announcement and I was supposed to take over.”

Harukawa thinks for a moment before saying “We didn’t check there. When we went down to the basement we went to the library first, and as you all know Idabashi-kun was dead by then.” 

“So what you’re saying is that you were in the basement right when the murder occurred, so you easily could have killed Idabashi-kun then ran back to the A/V room and have your little boytoy cover for you!” Iruma’s tone is accusatory, as is the way she’s pointing at Akamatsu

“No, that’s wrong!” Saihara counters. “I ran into Akamatsu-san at the top of the basement stairs right after the announcement. She never made it to the A/V room.” 

“Then how did we not run into her on the first floor? We had to go through there again after second floor and before the basement, if she was still there we would have seen her,” Harukawa reasons. 

Saihara can see seeds of distrust start to take root in his “classmates”. Akamatsu doesn’t respond to Harukawa’s question, and the seed plants itself inside Saihara as well, but he doesn’t want to acknowledge it. He trusts Akamatsu. He _does_. He _has to._

And if he wants everyone else to believe in her too, he has to lie. 

“Oh, that’s right. I asked Akamatsu-san to fetch something from her dorm room for our meeting, she must have been taking that detour while you explored the first floor.” 

“Yeah!” Akamatsu goes along with the lie. “I had almost reached the dormitory when the body discovery announcement sounded, so I came running back without going in.” 

“Hmm, I suppose that is possible,” Harukawa admits.

Iruma crosses her arms. “Yeah, I guess you’re off the hook for now. I’m still mad I wasted my precious time wandering around this shithole looking for you though.”

Saihara lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Thankfully, they believed him. Now, they could get back on track to finding the real culprit.

Ouma grins, placing his hands behind his head. “Yeah, that story totally makes sense, even if it is a little convenient!” Suddenly, his face drops, leaving only a dark and empty expression. “...Too bad it’s a lie.” 

Panic swells in Saihara’s heart. How had Ouma caught him out? He knew more about the plan than the others, sure, but there was nothing to suggest that Saihara hadn’t indeed asked Akamatsu to bring him something before showing up to her shift. 

“What exactly are you suggesting is a lie, Ouma-kun?” Amami questions. 

“Why, Akamatsu-chan’s whole statement, of course! She wasn’t on the second floor, or on her way to the dormitories. It’s all a lie.” 

“How would you know that?” Shirogane furrows her brow. 

“Because she was with me the whole time!” He announces. 

What? Why would Akamatsu be meeting up with Ouma? If it was concerning their plan, she would have waited for Saihara, right? She had no other reason to speak to him. 

“That’s a lie,” Saihara says flatly.

Ouma blinks. “I told you earlier, Saihara-chan. I don’t like to lie about these things.” 

“That doesn’t mean you don’t do it.” 

“And why do you think i’m the liar and not her?!” Ouma demands. 

“Because I trust Akamatsu-san!” He explodes. “You trust her too, right? You trusted both of us with the plan to catch the mastermind.”

Ouma sighs. “No offence, but this isn’t really a situation where you should trust people fully. When we were working together, whenever it wasn’t my shift, I kept an eye on both of you. After all, if one of you was the mastermind, you’d have free access to the library on your shifts.” 

Saihara mulls that over in his mind. On one hand, he’s not exactly comfortable with the idea that Ouma was watching him, but objectively he can’t deny it’s a smart move. Maybe he should have kept an eye on Ouma as well, but the hours neither Akamatsu or himself weren’t on watch were the only time they could spend together.

Either way, Ouma has to be lying to them. 

“That doesn’t make your earlier statement true. Akamatsu-san has given her alibi, but where’s yours?!” 

“Saihara-kun,” Akamatsu interjects softly. “It’s okay, you don’t have to defend me. I’ll...I’ll be honest.” 

His head spins, his stomach plummets. So many lies and truths that he can barely keep track of them anymore. The only option is to take a step back and sort out his thoughts, but first he needs to hear what Akamatsu has to say.

Akamatsu takes a deep, resolute breath. “I was on my way to the A/V room, on time despite what I said earlier. But when I was on my way there, I noticed Ouma-kun sneaking into the classroom at the top of the stairs that lead to the basement. It seemed odd to me, so I followed. Once I was in there, I noticed he had a suspicious item. You know what I’m talking about, right Saihara-kun?” 

A suspicious item? He conjures up an image of the classroom in his mind, trying to remember anything there that shouldn’t have been. The realisation hits him hard and fast, heavy as a…

“Shot put ball!” He declares. 

“A...shot put ball?” Chabashira asks, confused.

“There was a shot put ball on the ground in that classroom,” he clarifies.

Gokuhara scratches his jaw thoughtfully. “Where would someone get a shot put ball?”

“It likely came from the warehouse. There was no reason for it to be where we found it, though.” 

With everyone seeming caught up to speed, Akamatsu presses on. “Right, I saw him with the shot put ball. He was kneeling on the ground, taking the grate off the vent. I didn’t understand what he was doing, but I knew it couldn’t be good. I asked him what he was up to, and we argued for quite a while. Eventually, the body discovery announcement sounded.” 

“But why didn’t you say so earlier?” Saihara can’t help but question. 

“It would have distracted everyone from the trial. Besides, I didn’t want Ouma-kun to get in trouble.” she chuckles gently. 

He knew it must have been something like this. The only reason Akamatsu lied to him was to protect someone else. He’s still not happy that she didn’t tell him the truth, but he supposes he can understand. 

“Well, Ouma-kun, do you have anything to say to that?” He challenges.

Ouma laughs. “Nope! She told you exactly what happened...I mean, she changed _some_ details. Like the fact it was the other way around, and I’m the one who found her with the shot put ball in the empty classroom.” 

Akamatsu’s face hardens. “It’s my word against yours, Ouma-kun.” 

“You’re right. And hey, why would anyone believe me? It’s not like you’ve already been called out on a lie once in this trial.” Ouma shrugs. “Except, y’know, I have evidence.” 

It takes everyone a second to catch up with what Ouma is saying, Saihara included. When he eventually digests it, he’s just confused. Evidence? He thought he had found everything he could in the investigation, and nothing points to what Ouma is saying. 

He says as much out loud. 

Ouma doesn’t respond to him directly, instead turning to Monokuma. “Do you have what I asked you for?” 

The bear tilts its head, then breaks out in a laugh. “Upupupu! Of course I do. I’m a bear of my word, after all.” 

It’s pretty clear that no one seems to understand whatever turn of events is apparently going on, but Saihara can’t concern himself with the others. There’s a persistent thrum of anxiety swelling in his throat, travelling down to his chest. 

_What is happening?_

_This can’t be happening._

**_Not her._ **

Monokuma throws a manila envelope in Ouma’s direction that the boy swiftly catches. He slides it open with ease, pulling out a few small pieces of paper. 

No, not just paper, photographs, Saihara realises as Ouma holds the first one up for all of them to see. 

The first photo is taken from a distance, but it shows a figure entering the classroom. A figure with blonde hair brushing their shoulders, encased in a blueish-grey school uniform.

The second has the same framing, but it shows another figure entering the classroom. This one has spiky white hair, partially covered up by a hat. 

The third photo is taken from outside the classroom door, showing what’s going inside from the small window on it. The two figures seem to be engaged in some kind of communication. 

The next is an awkward angle, just capturing a pair of legs heading down the basement stairs. 

The fourth photo is taken through the classroom window again. It’s kind of hard to make out what’s happening from the angle, but he eventually works out that it’s the blonde figure from earlier kneeling on the classroom floor, fiddling with something on the wall. 

The final photograph is actually taken from inside the classroom, oddly blurry but easier to make out than the last two. The blonde figure is standing now, a shocked expression on their face and a shot put ball clutched in one of their hands. The vent is visible in the corner of the photograph; the grate has already been taken off. 

It’s undeniably Akamatsu. 

Saihara spirals. 

“Akamatsu-san,” he says hesitantly. “What’s going on?” 

“Saihara-kun.” She laughs. It sounds desperate. “I know this doesn’t look good, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is finding the mastermind. You promised me you wouldn’t let anything distract you from that, remember?”

Saihara doesn’t say anything. He can’t. He feels like he’s about to vomit. 

_I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you I trusted you._

He doesn’t know how much time passes, but suddenly the dark and hopeless expression is back as Akamatsu stares at the photographs being shown to them. Suddenly, she laughs, but it’s not a laugh he’s ever heard from her. It’s hollow, sending a chill down his spine. 

“I guess I can’t lie anymore, huh? I’m impressed, Ouma-kun, I didn’t even notice you getting those photos. Where were you hiding the camera for the last one?” 

Ouma glares at her. “It was in the front pocket of my pants. I lifted it out just enough that the lens could capture you, then tucked it away again.”

Akamatsu nods. “Well, it’s true. I was the one who went to the classroom, brought the shot put ball, and removed the vent. Ouma-kun followed me in and we argued until the body discovery announcement.”

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Yumeno murmurs. Chabashira reaches out, maybe to pat her on the back, but pulls her arm away before it can make contact. 

Everyone is varying levels of lost, but none so much as Saihara. It feels like the world is slipping out from under him. Everything has been turned upside down. Despite everything, a desire to understand, a desire to believe, keeps him going. 

“What were you doing with the shot put ball and the vent? And why was Idabashi-kun there?” He asks, voice shaking only slightly. 

She rolls her eyes. “I mean, it’s not too complicated if you think about it. Jeez, Saihara-kun, can’t you even work that much out on your own?” 

The way she’s talking to him is a sharp change from before. There’s no softness, no affection, just a haughty and resigned kind of disregard. 

His heart breaks a little more. He stumbles where he stands. 

_I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry let’s just forget this and go back let’s just forget this and go back let’s just forget this and go back._

“Think about the whole scene, Saihara-chan,” Ouma prompts, not unkindly. Right now, that’s enough to feel like cold and fresh water after a long trek in the driest desert. “Not just the classroom, but the library as well.”

The library? 

_Library death betrayal library death betrayal._

What seems connected to all this in the library?

_What were you doing Akamatsu-san why didn’t you tell me Akamatsu-san._

Think. He needs to think. 

He needs to breathe. 

In for four, out for seven. 

He’s got it. 

“The vent grate. The vent grate in the library was removed, just like the one you removed in the classroom,” he addresses Akamatsu. 

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” Momota explodes. 

Thankfully, Ouma answers, not leaving it up to him. “If both vent grates were removed, that means that you could use the vent to get something from the classroom to the library.”

“Was she going to crawl from the classroom to the library?” Gokuhara says.

“She was probably planning to hide in there to catch the mastermind!” Chabashira suggests. 

“Or, she was simply going to roll the shot put ball through the vent?” Amami suggests.

“I agree with that.” Saihara wishes he didn’t. “It’s the only thing that makes sense when you take the shot put ball into account.”

“But...why?” Yumeno questions. 

“Tenko doesn’t understand why either,” Chabashira admits.

The answer is on the tip of his tongue, but he can’t get it out. It’s a familiar word by now, one they’ve had to address every day, especially today, but he can’t say it, not in relation to her.

“Murder,” Ouma states, not a trace of doubt in his voice. 

Everyone stops in their tracks, faces varying from shock to disbelief to anger. A world of murder, but just like him, none of them can face it easily. 

Except for _her_. 

_She_ just smiles. 

She says. “Yep. I was planning to murder Idabashi-kun.” 

Everyone breaks back into action at once. There’s demands for explanation, words of condemnation, accusations and plain expressions of disbelief. 

“My plan was pretty simple, really. Earlier in the day, Idabashi-kun approached me to offer help with escaping the academy. I convinced him show up at the classroom 10:00pm. I knew that when I didn’t show up to the A/V room, Saihara-kun would come looking for me, leaving the library unguarded. Once I noticed Saihara-kun run past the classroom at around 10:10 I sent Idabashi-kun down to the library. I was going to roll the shot put ball through the vent while he was in the library, and it would have bashed his skull in.” 

"Because...you thought he was the mastermind?" Saihara asks.

"I thought it was possible, but the reason I pushed it so hard was just because...well, killing someone because you think they're the mastermind is a lot easier for people to accept, right?"

Saihara’s hands are clutching the podium in front of him hard enough to hurt. He needs the pain to keep him grounded. “How did you know it would hit him?” 

“I told him exactly what to do. He was supposed to go up to the library, climb the ladder, and remove the vent grate. Once he’d done that, I would roll the ball.” 

She says it all like it’s no big deal. Like it was easy for her. 

It’s not easy for him. 

“But how would you know when he’d removed the grate? If you’d done it too early or too late, your plan would have been ruined.” Amami says. 

“There was a way for me to know that I planned in advance.” Akamatsu shrugs. “You figured it out, right Ouma-kun?” 

“The noise travels through those vents really well. If Idabashi-kun had shouted out that he’d done as you asked, you’d know it was time.”

“Exactly. You’re pretty good at this game, Ouma-kun. Saihara-kun had no idea, even with a lot of the evidence laid out.” 

“You know why that is.” Ouma tells her. 

“...Because I trusted you,” Saihara says quietly. 

“Yeah, that _was_ pretty foolish of you.” Akamatsu laughs. 

Rage swells inside his chest, fighting with shame and disappointment and anxiety before completely taking him over. 

“I thought you were my friend!” He screams.

For once, he’s not considering what other people will think of his actions. He spends so much time trying to be controlled, trying to be unreadable, trying to be _normal_ , but right now none of that matters.

Akamatsu shakes her head. “There are no friends in this world.”

“Then what was everything from the past few days about?” He demands. 

All their talks, their investigating, their little moments. They all meant something to him. They had to mean something to her too, right?

“I was using you, Saihara-kun. That’s what I do; I use people before they can use me. And you were so easy to manipulate. Following me around like a lost puppy, hiding behind that hat, no faith in yourself, needing someone or something to believe in. If I was going to have a chance here, I needed someone to back me up, someone who believed in me.”

Her words are an ice-pick carefully chipping away parts of his heart.

_Stupid. You should have known she didn’t care about you._

_You’ve always had to do everything alone. You knew you couldn’t rely on anyone. But instead of listening to reason you fell for the first pretty face that gave you a crumb of kindness._

“So you were always planning to kill one of your fellow participants?” Shinguuji asks curiously.

“I was willing to try and find the mastermind at first, but I was always weighing both options. When Idabashi-kun came to me, I saw an opportunity to escape this place as soon as possible, so I decided to take it.”

“Was it because of the motive?” He thinks that’s Shirogane, but at this point he’s barely listening. He doesn’t want to hear any more.

“No. I just wanted out,” Akamatsu admits. Despite everything, his brain is still attuned to listen to _her_. “Don’t you all want out? It’s not much better out in the world, but at least we’re not trapped and forced to kill each other.”

Saihara doesn’t know if no one has any arguments against that or if he just can’t hear them over the bombardment of self-deprecating voices in his own mind.

Slowly, the silence lifts, but he can’t make out any words. It’s gibberish— unimportant nonsense. Nothing matters now.

A voice slips through the fog. 

“Saihara-chan,” it whispers. 

“Saihara-chan.” A little louder now. 

“Saihara-chan!” It yells. 

His mind slams back into his body violently and all at once. It takes him a moment to remember where he is, the tall courtroom seeming unfamiliar, and unlike his awareness his memory comes in waves. A courtroom, a deadly class trial, a murder case. 

“Saihara-chan, are you even listening?” Ouma chides. 

“Yeah, I don't know if you noticed but thanks to your good buddy Akamatsu-san we’re in a shit load of trouble here,” Iruma seeths. 

What? Has he missed something? Sure, what Akamatsu did had more or less broke him, but that didn’t mean she was responsible for their situation.

“Akamatsu-san really killed Idabashi-kun?” Hoshi murmurs.

“She just admitted her whole plan! Of course it was her!” 

“Saihara-chan.” Ouma looks directly at him. He doesn’t adjust his hat. “This trial is starting to get out of control. You need to pay attention.” 

Why him? What could he have to say that matters? 

“I’m sure you’re mad at me right now, Saihara-kun, but I agree with Ouma-kun. What, are you gonna give up just because I let you down? You won’t get anywhere that way!” Akamatsu says. 

“We need to get them back on the right track, because right now everyone’s off the rails,” Ouma tells him. 

Back on track? Where are they going wrong? What did he miss? 

“Akamatsu-san is the killer, that’s our decision.” 

“We need to think over the case more!” 

Arguments flood in from both sides and no one seems to settle on an answer. Even if he wanted to say something now, it’s too loud and discordant for him to get a word in edgeways.

“Well, it looks like you’re split right down the middle!” Monokuma observes gleefully. “But don’t worry. Your headmaster has prepared for situations such as these. The Ultimate Academy is proud to present its very own morphenomenal trial grounds!”

“M-Morphawhat now?” Chabashira frowns. 

"I think that means the trial grounds are going to morph!" Yumeno chirps.

A new wave of nausea rises up in Saihara’s stomach as his podium is lifted up into the air. His dizziness increases tenfold, especially as he watches the other podiums rise into the air like his. 

When the podiums stop moving, they’re all positioned in two straight lines facing each other. The experience reminds him of some kind of theme park ride he’s not sure he’s ever been on— another instance of weird features in the school that must be costly and serve no real purpose. 

“Akamatsu-san planned to kill Idabashi-kun. She told us herself,” Momota states. 

“Just because she planned to kill him does not mean she succeeded,” Toujou counters. 

“She was one of the only people who knew when no one would be watching the library. That gives her a perfect chance to murder,” Iruma says.

“Having the chance does not make you guilty, if so we’ll have to start accusing everyone without alibis. After all, it’s not like the rest of us knew the library was being watched at all, so we wouldn’t worry about it.” Chabashira says.

“She used the shot put ball to kill him. After all, the cause of death was a wound on the back of the head, just as she described, correct?” Shinguuji posits.

Shirogane goes next. “But the shot put ball was still in the classroom, not in the library.”

“Then she went back and picked it up from the scene,” Hoshi suggests.

“She couldn’t have gone back to the scene,” Ouma reminds them. “We were together in the classroom the whole time.” 

“Hmmm,” Shinguuji strokes their chin. “Perhaps discussing the case more would be the wise decision after all.”

The podiums float back to the ground, sliding into place where they belong. Listening to that debate had managed to catch Saihara up to his speed. He has to continue to fight through this trial. His heart and mind are still in agony, but he won’t give anyone the satisfaction of letting it break him. Ouma’s words— and even Akamatsu’s, though he doesn’t want to give her the credit— replace the dark thoughts at the back of his mind. 

“I’m still convinced Akamatsu-san killed Idabashi-kun with that shot put ball.” Momota shakes his head. 

“No, that’s wrong,” Saihara states. “If you look at the wound on the back of Idabashi’s head, it’s jagged, almost triangular in nature. A shot put ball is smooth and spherical. It doesn’t match up.” 

“So something else was used to kill Idabashi-kun!” Shirogane declares. 

“Like what?” Toujou asks, looking thoroughly bored as she admires her nails. 

“I...haven’t figured that out yet,” Saihara admits.

“Whatever it is was a jagged, almost triangular shape,” Amami reiterates thoughtfully. 

Shirogane nods. “And it hit Idabashi-kun in the back of the head.”

“Maybe the killer took the murder weapon with them and hid it,” Harukawa says

“But what would make an injury like that?” Chabashira wonders aloud. 

“Well, something pointed, at the very least,” Ouma states. 

Shirogane rolls her eyes. “That hardly narrows it down.” 

“I mean, I think it does. In fact, I think it’s pretty obvious what killed him.” 

“Then spit it out!” Momota snarls.

“Does it really matter? Tenko means, if the killer took the weapon with them, then there’s probably not much we can figure out from it.” Chabashira sighs. 

Amami shrugs. “We don’t know that for sure. What if the weapon is actually still in the room and we all just overlooked it.”

Wait…

Saihara can feel an idea start to form in his mind. But...if he just comes out with it, it will sound ridiculous. He needs to think this through and be sure he’s right. He formulates a mental checklist of questions, one after the other, double checking them against what he already knows. 

Where was Idabashi’s body found?

In the library, between the ladder and a small bookcase. 

What was odd about the small bookcase? 

It was covered in blood. 

What happened to the murder weapon? 

It’s still in the library.

“I’ve got it!” He gasps. “It’s like Amami-kun said. The weapon is still in the library, but we all overlooked it. We overlooked it because we expected that item to already be there. The smaller bookcase right next to Idabashi-kun’s body was covered in blood, especially the corner closest to his head, which because of its shape would leave a wound like the one we found.” 

“He was killed with a bookcase?!” Yumeno asks, startled. 

“It’s not the first time it’s happened!” Shirogane protests. “Well...it might be, actually.”

“Angie doesn’t understand,” Angie says. "How did the culprit use the bookcase to kill him?” 

“It’s way too heavy to pick up and use as a weapon that way,” Amami observes. 

“I bet Gokuhara-kun could do it!” Iruma shouts.

Gokuhara looks taken aback...and maybe a little hurt. “Even If I could, I have an alibi, remember?” 

“Oh yeah.” Iruma waves him off with her hand.

“It doesn’t matter if someone is strong enough to pick up the bookcase. It’s way too unwieldy to use as a weapon, especially with the precision of the injury,” Ouma points out. 

“Jeez, this is taking too long,” Akamatsu grouses. “Can’t you all use your brains for once?” 

“I have an idea, there’s just something I need to check first,” Saihara tells them all.

Steeling himself, he turns to face Akamatsu. He can feel his anger building up all over again. 

_No, You can deal with this later. This isn’t about her, it’s about you. It’s about finding the murderer and getting out of this class trial alive. Don’t hide away. Don’t let yourself be manipulated again._

It’s empty behind her eyes. This is her. The real Akamatsu. The one who had smiled at him, the one who seemed to care, was just a facade she was using to get him where she wanted him.

“Akamatsu-san.” In for four, out for seven. “You instructed Idabashi-kun to climb the ladder and remove the vent, right?” 

“That’s right.” She nods.

If Idabashi was at the top of the ladder, then he somehow had to end up in proximity to the short bookcase, and at some point hit the corner with enough force to lead to his death. 

The answer falls into place, letter by letter. 

“He fell,” Saihara announces. “Idabashi-kun was at the top of the ladder, but he fell off and when he landed he caught his head on the corner of the bookcase.” 

“I see…” Shinguuji frowns. “But, how do you know that he fell rather than returning to the ground normally and receiving the injury later. Is that not merely conjecture?” 

No. He has evidence to back up his claim. 

“There was a thick layer of dust on Idabashi-kun’s palm. The large amount of dust shows that It’s likely from the top of the bookcase when he was reorganising the books and removing the vent grate. If he’d climbed back down the ladder, then that dust would have come off on the rungs.” 

He lets everyone digest what he’s said. He’s pretty sure he’s right, even if his anxieties want to tell him otherwise. 

“But wait!” Shirogane says suddenly. “If Idabashi-kun simply fell, then this isn’t a murder!”

“Yeah! That’s right! That means none of us killed Idabashi-kun! Yay!” Yumeno cheers.

“Yeah, he was alone and he fell. That’s not a murder,” Harukawa agrees. 

“Actually,” Saihara counters. “He wasn’t alone. Even though he fell, it’s obvious that someone else must have been there by the fact that he was tied up when the body was discovered. 

“But...being tied up wasn’t what killed him, right?” Shirogane says.

“Yeah, I dunno why the fuck he was tied up, but if he fell and hit his head that’s not a murder!” Momota insists. 

Ouma looks at him incredulously. “Don’t you want to know _why_ he was tied up?” 

“Doesn’t matter! There’s no murderer, that’s our answer.”

“Is that an option?” Angie frowns. “For there to be no culprit?” 

“Or...maybe that means Idabashi-kun is the culprit?” Amami muses. “If what you guys are saying is right, then he’d be responsible for his own death.” 

Shirogane turns to Monokuma. The bear is acting like it’s fallen asleep, snoring on its chair . “Is that how it works? If someone is responsible for their own death then are they considered the culprit?”

“Huh?” It jumps slightly, opening its eyes. “What are you kids talking about? I was getting some beauty rest. That’s important for a handsome bear like me, can’t let the people down by not looking my best.” 

Akamatsu drums her fingers on her podium in irritation. “Shirogane-san asked if someone would be considered their own murderer if they caused their own death.”

“How long was I asleep? That topic doesn’t normally come up until the last case!” 

“Just answer the question.” 

“Yeah, you can be your own murderer. Any death that isn’t caused by naturally occurring illness, execution, or death via Exisal is a murder in The Ultimate Academy.”

“Even if it’s an accident? That doesn’t make sense!” Yumeno protests.

“It makes perfect sense!” Monukama shouts. “Because I am the headmaster of this academy, and what the headmaster says goes!”

“So, Idabashi-kun is the murderer then!” Momota declares, banging his fist against the podium.

“So...it’s solved? We’ve done it?” Hoshi asks. 

Relief and joy wash over the courtroom. After so long debating, everyone is just glad it’s over, and with the culprit already dead then an execution won’t even have to take place

~~You know it can’t end this well.~~

Monokuma grins “Well, if you’ve all decided then—“ 

“No.” Ouma shoots through the good mood. “There’s something we’ve overlooked.” 

“Is this about the ropes again? I said that shit doesn’t matter!” Momota sneers. 

“No, although I think we _should_ discuss that. It’s something else.” 

Another piece of evidence? What, other than the ropes, was still left undiscussed? Saihara files through all the things he’d noticed during the investigation before landing on the answer.

“There was a book that was out of place. It was near Idabashi-kun. On top of that, it was damaged.” 

“Isn’t that whole place full of damaged books?” Gokuhara asks, frowning in confusion.

“On the contrary, despite all the dust the books seem to be mostly new and in decent condition.” 

“I still don’t see what that has to do with the case…” Harukawa admits.

Saihara doesn’t say it out loud, but he doesn’t know either.

“You’re all hypothesising that he simply fell off the ladder, right? But, actually, the killer _made_ him fall!” Ouma explains. 

“I still don’t get it.” She shakes her head. 

“Maybe it would help if I explain some things,” Akamatsu offers, tone dripping with false sweetness. “When I was trying to kill Idabashi-kun, I told him to shout up to me once he’d removed the grate—“ 

“You told us this shit already!” Iruma interrupts. 

“And I’m telling you again. Sorry you’re not smart enough to reach the finish line on your own, Iruma-san, but I’m just trying to help you.” 

Iruma explodes, scrabbling to climb over her podium and lunge at Akamatsu. “Fuck you, you fucking lame excuse for an attempted murderer!”

Gokuhara leaves his podium to hold her back. Saihara worries about that for a moment, but Monokuma had never said it was a rule that they couldn’t leave their podiums, and he doesn’t stop Gokuhara now. 

“Just leave it for now, alright Iruma-san? Violence isn’t going to solve anything,” he tells her. 

“As I was saying, I asked Idabashi-kun to shout to me, but he never did, Ouma-kun can confirm that because if he had he would have heard it to. But, we know that he did climb up the ladder and remove the vent grate.”

“So why didn’t he complete that last step?” Shirogane asks.

“Because he was interrupted. But, I gave him a codeword for that situation too, so I’d be able to start covering up what I was trying to do. So, he must not have noticed he was interrupted until it was too late.” 

“But how didn’t he notice them?” 

“Maybe he just wasn’t paying attention?” Shinguuji proposes. “At times, when I have been focused on a task, I have found myself unaware of my surroundings.”

“Maybe they were invisible!” Yumeno gasps.

“How the fuck would they turn invisible?” demands Iruma. 

“Our headmaster is a talking teddy bear, at this point anything is possible.”

“Back to the topic at hand,” Amami says. “Perhaps Idabashi-kun simply couldn’t see the killer from where he was.” 

“I agree with that.” Saihara nods. “The killer came in through the library’s side door. There was less dust there than before, and...a footprint! That’s what that shape in the dust was. It wasn’t one of us, because as fair as I remember we all entered through the front door.”

“Couldn’t that have been Idabashi-kun, though?” Shirogane challenges. 

“It could have been, I’ll admit that,” his admittance is reluctant, however. Both because he feels like a failure for not having better evidence, and simply because it’s Shirogane. “Maybe that was also the door he used, but given the current topic of discussion it makes sense that was where the killer entered from.” 

“I don’t think it really matters _why_ Idabashi-kun didn’t notice the culprit though, just that he didn’t. If i’m following the conversation correctly, that is,” Harukawa says. 

Ouma nods his agreement before pressing on with the discussion. “He wouldn’t have noticed the killer coming, since that door is behind the ladder. So, he couldn't have fell from the surprise of seeing them. Something else must have caused him to fall, while the culprit was in the room and unnoticed.”

“Isn’t it still possible for him to just have fallen normally?” Yumeno asks, the hope evident in her voice. “Accidents do happen. I’ve had to go to hospital quite a lot, and people come in with the weirdest injuries sometimes.”

“Yes, but there’s something else in the library that points to a different conclusion. Something that was in a similar state to the book we found.” 

Saihara feels closer to the answer now, the pieces are falling into place slowly. 

What else in the library was in a similar condition to the book? 

“I got it!” He says. “You’re talking about Idabashi-kun’s hat, right?” 

He remembers it now, though it wasn’t a detail he’d paid much attention to before, dismissing it as a natural result of Idabashi’s injury; the hat that Idabashi wore was beaten up, just like the book, and both had been found next to the body. 

“Both the book and the hat were in bad shape, and something caused Idabashi-kun to fall. These two pieces of evidence together paint out what the likely scenario was.” 

“For those of you who still don’t get it, the culprit threw a library book at Idabashi-kun’s head.” Akamatsu summarises.

“Well, that’s certainly kinder than a shot put ball,” Toujou acknowledges. “...And less effective.” 

“So, being hit by the book is what caused Idabashi-kun to fall off the ladder and as a result hit his head on the bookcase?” Gokuhara double checks.

Shirogane is the one to finally say the words that they don’t want to hear. “Which means someone is responsible for his death after all.” 

~~See? You should know how this works. After all—~~

“Which means this fucking trial isn’t over.” Momota grimaces. “Seriously?!” 

"The next death is going to be us all dying of old age," Chabashira comments dryly. 

“So, we still need to come to a conclusion,” Harukawa says. “But what is there left to discuss”

“As far as I can tell, there’s only one piece of evidence left we haven’t discussed.” Saihara shoots a glance at Ouma, wondering if he’s going to remind Saihara of anything else he’s forgotten, but he doesn’t say anything so Saihara takes a breath and continues. “The fact that Idabashi-kun was tied up.”

“Finally!” Ouma exclaims. “How do you feel now, Mr “It doesn’t matter” Momota-chan?” 

“It’s not gonna matter when I punch you in the face!” 

_That doesn’t even make sense_.

“But it doesn’t make any fucking sense!” Iruma protests. “What’s the purpose in tying up a dead body? Unless they were into some really kinky shit. God, those guys are always the worst.” 

”I think you mean all guys are the worst,” Chabashira comments.

“It’s possible it was some kind of cultural practice. There was a period of my life where I spent a lot of time reading up on funeral traditions, and I believe I recall one that involved tying up the jaw of the deceased,” Shinguuji says.

Iruma snorts. “Or, way more likely answer, they did it to try and confuse us.” 

“But confuse us into thinking what, exactly?” Gokuhara asks. “I _am_ confused, but it’s not leading me to any answers, right or wrong.”

Akamatsu sighs. “You’re all thinking about this from the wrong angle. The question isn’t ‘why would the culprit tie up a dead body, it’s—“

“Was Idabashi-kun already dead when the culprit tied him up,” Ouma finishes.

“But he couldn’t have been tied up until after he already fell and hit his head, right? It’s not as if he climbed the ladder without the use of his arms.”

“That’s true, Shirogane-san. But just because he was already injured doesn’t mean he was already dead.” Akamatsu smiles at her.

Saihara forces himself not to focus on the fact that it looks a little a little more like her old smile— the ones she used to give him before the kind of person she really is had been uncovered. It’s still not the same, still not bright and welcoming, but it doesn’t seem born out the same dark emotions as the one she’d plastered on her face since Ouma exposed her. 

A look of understanding falls on Gokuhara's face. “That’s a good point. I’ve seen— well, caused, if i’m honest— quite a few head wounds. Never ones on the level of what Idabashi-kun experienced, but my therapist explained to me how dangerous they can be. It is possible for them to kill instantly, but it _can_ take some time too, anywhere from minutes to much longer if there’s complications.” 

“But is there any proof he wasn’t dead upon impact?” Toujou questions. 

“That’s not really an easy thing to tell,” Akamatsu says. “The Monokuma file is vague about the time of death— probably on purpose— so unless one of you is secretly a coroner…”

“The fact that the murderer went to the effort of tying him up will have to be proof enough,” Ouma says resignedly.

“If an educated guess is our only option, then it’s our only option. At least if we talk about it it will lead somewhere,” Harukawa reassures. 

“Then let’s work from there.” Angie nods.

“My question still fucking stands,” Momota grumbles. “Even if he wasn’t dead, what did tying him up achieve?” 

“Maybe they did it to torture him,” Amami says darkly. 

“No, that’s wrong. It says in the Monokuma file that other than the killing wound Idabashi-kun had no other notable injuries.” 

Amami chuckles. “Well, that’s a relief.” 

“Was it so that he couldn’t fight back?” Momota suggests. “I can’t imagine he would be too happy about what happened, and that guy was unpredictable as shit.”

“Even though he was still alive, it’s unlikely he would have the strength it takes to fight his attacker. He was probably unconscious, and even when... _if_...he came to he’d be in bad shape,” Gokuhara tells them. 

“Think of it from the killer’s perspective. You just found someone in the library, you try to kill them, but though they’re severely injured, they’re unfortunately still alive. They’re probably going to die, but if anyone knew what happened then you’re signing your own death warrant. As a precaution, what would you do?” Akamatsu says.

“Restrain them so that they can’t get away and ruin my chance to succeed at the class trial by telling someone what happened,” Saihara’s answer shoots out of him before he’s even had a chance to think about it. It scares him, that he already knows how he’d kill one of his ‘classmates’ without ever actively thinking about it.

“That’s the only answer that makes logical sense, don’t you think?”

“But why bring the rope in the first place?” Shirogane asks. 

“They were probably planning to use it in their murder plot anyway, but the way Idabashi-kun died led to it being used in a different manner.”

“A-Angie doesn’t understand where the killer even got the rope.” 

The rope, Saihara had seen some before, in the warehouse…

The warehouse.

T H E W A R E H O U S E.

“I think I know who the culprit is,” he says hesitantly. 

All his "classmates" turn to look at him, surprise etched on their faces. The only people who don’t seem shocked are Ouma, Akamatsu, and…

“Hoshi-kun, it was you, wasn’t it?” 

Saihara had only really spent time with Hoshi once, when they played blackjack in the dining hall. From the little time he’d spent with the man, he’d gathered that his default expression was a sullen one, no matter what was going on. A pokerface of sorts, but a more depressing one. Now, something else flashes in his eyes, as fleeting as it is.

“Me?” He asks. “What makes you think that?” 

He can practically feel the way everyone is holding their breath, hanging on his next words. All the attention is on him, but he feels differently about it than he usually would. There’s still anxiety, but there is also a sense of rightness, like this is how it’s supposed to be. 

“The rope can only have come from the warehouse, which is where you said you were at the time of the murder, correct?” 

“It is. But anyone could have gone to the warehouse at some point during the day and picked it up.” 

“There’s no proof anyone else was at the warehouse today, though. Akamatsu-san must have went there to get the shot put ball, but it’s been proven she’s not the culprit, despite her best efforts. The only other person we know for a fact was in the warehouse today is you.”

“Kid, are you really basing your whole argument on the fact I happened to be at a place loosely related to the murder that is accessible to everyone?” 

“It’s not just that,” he counters. “I didn’t realise it until now, but you lied to me.” 

Hoshi’s shoulders tense. “Lied to you? About what?” 

“When we were giving our alibis you said you were at the warehouse for the duration of the murder, but when I actually ran into you outside the warehouse you said you were just about to head back to your dorm room. One of those has to be a lie.”

“A lie? That seems a bit dramatic. When you saw me I _was_ planning to go to bed, but I changed my mind and went to the warehouse instead.” 

“What made you change your mind?” 

There’s a momentary hesitation before Hoshi replies. 

“I figured the games of cards I have with Gokuhara-kun and Shinguuji would be more exciting if we had something to play for. I was looking for things we could bet.” 

“Or, you noticed Idabashi-kun heading down to the basement. Taking everyone else’s alibis as fact, you’re actually the only person who was likely to see him, since all you had to do was walk a couple of steps from the spot you were standing when we ran into each other and you had a clear view of the basement steps. No one else was likely to see him go from the classroom to downstairs from where they were.” 

“What about Shirogane-san? She went to the bathroom, remember? That’s the same hallway as the classroom and the stairs to the basement.”

“Why does everyone keep bringing that up? I was literally only gone for a minute or two,” she complains. 

“And Toujou-san confirms that,” Saihara explains. “If we’re being generous, maybe that was enough time to kill Idabashi-kun, but not enough for her to tie him up _and_ get back to the dining hall.” 

“These are all just coincidences,” Hoshi insists. “It wasn’t me.” 

“Didn’t you tell me once that to play a game of chance I have to know the odds?! What are the odds that there’s all these coincidences pointing to you being the culprit if it’s not true?” 

“Nothing about the scene ties me to Idabashi-kun’s death!” 

“No, that’s wrong!” Saihara shouts. “The ropes that restrained Hoshi-kun were tied in knots that were layered on top of eachother, also known as double-knots, and judging by everyone’s shoelaces, you’re the only person here who ties knots like that.” 

Hoshi deflates, a defeated and exhausted slump of his posture that tells him exactly what he needs to know. 

“I think we should explain the case from the beginning, just to make sure there’s nothing we’ve missed and that everyone is on the same page,” Ouma suggests, a tightness in his voice that Saihara can’t dwell on.

“This is the truth of the case,” Saihara begins. “A few days ago, Ouma-kun, Akamatsu-san and myself found the hidden door behind the central bookshelf in the library. Knowing it likely belongs to the mastermind, we decided to take shifts watching the library from the A/V room. Earlier today. Idabashi-kun came to me and asked if he could do anything to help us escape our prison. I said no and left it at that, but something I was unaware of was that he also asked Akamatsu-san, and she told him that he could help by meeting her in the classroom at the top of the basement stairs at 10:00pm. 10:00pm was the time she was supposed to take over the watch at the library. I was on watch before that, and she knew that eventually I would leave to look for her, leaving the library unattended.” 

He pushes down the bubble of fury he feels remembering that she had been using him. 

“Once she was sure I’d left the basement, she sent Idabashi-kun down to the library to remove the vent grate there. She removed the vent grate in the classroom and brought out a shot put ball she must have picked up from the warehouse between the time she first spoke to Idabashi-kun and when she met him in the classroom. She was planning to use that shot put ball to murder him. We know this because Ouma-kun intervened after Idabashi-kun headed down to the library, foiling Akamatsu-san’s plan. This is how the victim ended up at the scene of the crime.”

He takes a quick glance around the room to make sure everyone is following along. He doesn’t think he’s ever talked this much for so long in his life.

“The culprit spotted Idabashi-kun heading down to the basement alone, and went to the nearby warehouse to grab some rope before following him. Entering through the side door, the culprit snuck up on the victim, who was standing at the top of the ladder doing what Akamatsu-san had asked of him. The culprit picked up a book from one of the many in the library and threw it at the victim’s head, causing him to fall. The fall is what led to the Idabashi-kun’s death, as he hit his head on the sharp corner of a bookcase as he landed. Seeing that the victim was still alive, the culprit tied him up so that he wouldn’t be able to leave the scene before he died. Once the culprit left the scene, Iruma-san and Harukawa-san found the victim’s body. It was also seen by the mastermind, who used the hidden door in the library to get in, but they fled the scene very shortly before Iruma-san and Harukawa-san arrived and triggered the body discovery announcement. According to the evidence, the killer can only be you, Hoshi Ryoma.”

Saihara is breathing heavily when he finishes. He knows he probably looks wild right now, eyes wide with adrenaline, but he’s done it, he’s pieced together everything to find their culprit.

Monokuma cackles from above them. 

Hoshi is about to be sent to his death. Saihara shouldn’t feel proud. He does anyway. 

“It looks like the debate is over!” The bear says with excitement. “And you know what that means! It’s voting time!” 

The screens built into their podium show a new screen; it displays the phrase “voting time” in glowing letters. Underneath the title is pictures of all their faces, with Idabashi’s being crossed out in red like the portrait on his podium. 

Saihara logs in his vote, waiting for everyone else to do the same. For some of them it’s instant, like Akamatsu and Shirogane, and some hesitate, like Yumeno and Angie. 

“Upupupu. It looks like the voting has finished. Now then, let’s see the result.” 

A large flat-screen monitor descends from the ceiling, flickering to life to show a kind of scoreboard. Every single vote is next to Hoshi’s name. Fifteen of them, meaning he must have voted for himself too. 

“Who’ll be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice? Or the dreadfully wrong one?”

VERDICT: 

HOSHI RYOMA

“Well, congratulations!” Monokuma cheered. “You all got it right! The culprit in this case, the one who murdered Idabashi Kiibo, is the one and only Hoshi Ryoma!” 

Time seems to slow down. The adrenaline leaves Saihara’s body, leaving him worn out but still wired. It’s over, but at the same time it isn’t. The killing game will still go on. And the culprit will be exectuted.

Hoshi is the first one to speak. 

“Heh, guess this is the end of the line for me,” he says with a tired laugh.

“But...why? Why did you kill him?” Yumeno asks, voice breaking. 

Hoshi sighs. “You all know what Idabashi-kun was like. I’m not normally one to judge, but I doubt there was anyone in this room who wasn’t suspicious of him.”

“The guy was a fucking nutcase,” Momota says. “Always screwing around, not talking except to say some weird shit. Remember that fight I had with him last night in the dining hall? I was minding my own business talking to Harukawa-san, telling her about this one weekend where I totally punched this guy’s lights out after he tried to insult me. Idabashi-kun interrupted and started asking me all these weird questions until I lost my temper.” 

“What kind of questions?” Saihara asks. He remembers arriving at the dining hall at the tail end of this argument, but he never got an explanation for why it happened. 

“Crap like ‘why weren’t you at home?’ and ‘what did your parents think about your actions?’. I don’t remember the rest, but I got sick of his weird fucking judgement or whatever pretty quickly.”

Around the courtroom, a few more people submit little tidbits about weird interactions with Idabashi that they’d had. It’s only when the discussion reaches Yumeno that everything changes. 

“Did any of you even _try_ to get to know him?!” She demands, a fire in her eyes that Saihara has never seen before. “You could have talked to him! Asked him about himself! Then you would have understood him!”

“He wasn’t the easiest guy to talk to!” Iruma says. “Weird little guys like him are a pain in the ass.” 

“No, Yumeno-chan is right,” Ouma says firmly. “If you’d tried to talk to him, he actually opens up really easily. I only spoke to him a few times but what he told me explains exactly why he is the way he is.” 

“What did he tell you?” Harukawa asks. “If you’re comfortable sharing it, that is.” 

“It isn't my story to tell, but I guess someone has to explain since he can't now. He told me about what his life was like before he woke up here. Idabashi-kun _never_ left his house, and I don’t mean that hyperbolically. His parents wouldn’t let him even step outside the door. They homeschooled him, until they got bored, then just left him to his own devices and barely spoke to him despite being the only contact he had with anyone. No wonder he was ‘weird’. Can you _imagine_ what that does to a person’s psychological and social development.” 

Most of them have the decency to look at least a little bit guilty about the things they’d said and the way they’d treated someone who they didn’t truly understand. 

Shirogane chokes back a sob. “Wow, that’s...so sad.” 

Hoshi’s whole body seems to react to Ouma’s words. His face is consumed by a haunted expression, his body stiff and awkward as he stands. 

“So...that’s what it was,” he finally says.

“And you killed him,” Ouma laughs, a sardonic smile painting his features. “You murdered him because instead of giving him a chance you just presumed he was something he wasn’t. Wow! How does that feel, Hoshi-kun?” 

Hoshi shakes his head. “Actually, there’s one thing I’d like to make clear. I never intended to kill him.” 

Those words shatter the air in the room like a bullet. Everyone suddenly speaking up at once, shaken out of their silence.

“Hoshi-kun,” Harukawa says, the assured and purposeful tone of her voice gets everyone to calm down and listen. “Can you please explain to us what happened?” 

“Most of what was uncovered in this trial is true, including some of my own statements. I _had_ been looking inside the warehouse for betting materials, but I left to head off to bed. Before I’d got very far, Saihara ran up to me and asked where Akamatsu-san was. After he ran off, I went to follow, but then I saw Idabashi-kun going down to the basement alone. He looked shifty, glancing around to see if anyone was watching him. I already had my doubts about him, and with his odd behaviour I made the decision to follow him. Before I did, I ran into the library to grab some rope. But, I wasn’t going to use it to kill him, contrary to what Akamatsu-san assumed. My plan was that if he indeed was up to something, I would tie him up then call the rest of you to the library to question him. When I walked in, I saw what he was doing, though I didn’t understand why at the time. That’s when I decided to throw that book at him, just to stop whatever he was doing as quickly as possible. When it hit him, he fell. I didn’t know he’d land the worst way possible. I wasn’t expecting it to end like it did. He was still alive when I left, but with the amount of blood I didn’t feel like he’d last long. I panicked, so like you all said, I tied him up so he couldn’t leave. I didn’t want anyone to find me there, and I didn’t want to watch him die. So...like a coward, I left and just waited for the body discovery announcement.”

“But even though it wasn’t your intention, it still counts as a murder, doesn’t it Monokuma?” Shirogane asks the bear. 

“Upupu! That’s right. Hoshi Ryoma murdered Idabashi Kiibo, plain and simple.”

“But...you aren’t going to execute him, right?” Yumeno asks, voice cracking.

“Of course I’m going to execute him! He’s the blackened, and you all correctly identified him as such! _You’re_ the ones sending him to his death.” 

“But it was an accident!” Yumeno yells. 

“Stop,” Hoshi cuts in. His deep voice carries a sense of finality. “I _did_ kill Idabashi-kun, even though this all could have been easily avoided, I chose to do what I did based on ignorance. I’ll accept my punishment. Besides...It’s better this way…”

“Better this way?” Akamatsu asks, incredulous. “You’re about to die! What could be more important than your own survival?” 

“I may not have committed my crime because of the motive set by Monokuma, but either way I prevented the end-result. Someone’s loved ones were going to be added to this killing game if there was no murder. It’s better for the guy who has no one to care about and nothing to live for to die, than the rest of you suffer. I don’t even know why I fought to get through this trial. Heh, guess I don’t want to live but was too scared to die. But, you’re all safe from Monokuma’s motive now, and there’s no one who will miss me.” 

“That’s bullshit!” Gokuhara slams his fists on the podium. Everything about him sends off an aura of pure, unbridled rage. It’s enough to make Saihara back up as much as he can in his podium, scared to be too close. “Maybe you have no one out there, I don’t know! But there are people _in_ _here_ who care about you. You’re my friend, Hoshi-kun. _I’ll_ miss you.” 

The expression “dumbstruck” has never been so apt. Hoshi stares at Gokuhara, bug-eyed and slackjawed. There’s a struggle going on behind his eyes that Saihara recognises as the struggle to process something you just can’t believe. 

“I—“ Hoshi chokes back a sob. “Gokuhara-kun, I don’t have friends, never have.”

“Yes you do! And even if you didn’t, your life isn’t forfeit just because of your circumstances,” Gokuhara insists. “Your life matters just as much as anyone else's.”

Gokuhara’s anger ebbs away as tears start to fall down his cheeks.

“Jeez! Can’t kids these days go one measly trial without turning it into a ball of angst,” Momokuma rants. “Save your tears for later, because right now I have a very special punishment for the su— oops, I mean for Hoshi Ryoma.” 

Monokuma slams its paw down on a button in front of it, and a chain shoots from the ceiling. Attached to one end of this chain is a metal collar that makes short work of snapping shut on Hoshi’s neck. As he’s dragged away, there’s nothing they can do but watch. 

The picture on the monitor displays a new screen:

**GAMBLERS GAMBIT**

A giant roulette wheel appears on the screen as the title fades out. Hoshi is strapped down inside one of the pockets, so small that there’s still space around him. In another pocket is a normal roulette ball, looking comically small compared to the wheel. Hoshi doesn’t squirm. The look on his face is disturbingly serene as he waits for what’s about to happen. 

“So, how many of you kids know how to play roulette?” Monokuma addresses them. 

“Uh, Isn’t gambling illegal?” Chabashira comments. 

Monokuma ignores her. “For those of who don’t know, the game goes like this: There are 36 pockets in the wheel, all labelled with their respective number. In order to win the game, you have to correctly guess which number the roulette ball will land on. You will all pick a number. If just one of Hoshi’s friends correctly picks where the roulette ball lands, then their prize will be his life.” 

“You’re— you’re gonna give him a chance to live?” Gokuhara breathes. 

“I said what I said. So, everyone place your bets!” 

There are fifteen of them and thirty six pockets, meaning they have roughly a 42% chance of getting this right.

He knows the odds, but there’s nothing he can do to change them. Like it or not, it really is a game of chance, and the odds aren’t quite favouring them. 

“Please place your bet on the touchscreen installed into your podiums,” Monokuma instructs. “As each of you pick a number, your choice will be grayed out for your fellow classmates to avoid repeats. After all, we want to give Hoshi the best chance to survive, don't we?”

It looks similar to the voting time screen, except instead of sixteen panels with their faces there are 36 panels labelled with numbers. 

Someone picks seven almost immediately, quickly followed by thirteen, then thirty two. Saihara ends up being the fourth to pick, choosing number eleven at random. 

It takes maybe two minutes for the fifteen numbers they’ve picked to gray out. The screen doesn’t tell him who picked what, but it wouldn’t surprise him if Gokuhara had been agonising over his choice for the longest. 

BETS PLACED: 3,4,7,8,11,13,14,16,23,25,26,27,31,32,35

“All bets are in! Please direct your attention back to the monitor because it’s time to spin the wheel!” Monokuma announces. 

Another Robotic bear walks on to the screen. It looks just like Monokuma, except instead of being half white and half black it is half white and half a kind of yellow colour with a tiger print. For some reason it’s wearing glasses and...is that a pacifier?

The yellow bear spins the roulette wheel. Watching it go round is dizzying, but Saihara can’t bring himself to look away. It spins, and spins, and spins, until finally slowing down.

The roulette ball lands in number sixteen. 

A collective sigh of relief echoes around the room. They’d done it. They’d saved him. No one else had to— 

On the screen, a giant, solid metal roulette ball drops on to the wheel, crushing Hoshi. The last thing they see before the screen goes black is his blood splattering the room. 

Saihara falls to his knees. To any onlookers, it would look like grief, but the truth is that the same rush he felt when he found Idabashi-kun is thrumming through his veins again. 

_Why are you like this?_

_Be normal._

_Can’t you see them all suffering? How can you enjoy this?_

“You bastard!” Gonta screams. It takes Saihara too long to realise it’s directed at Monokuma and not at him. “You said if we won you wouldn’t kill him. 

“Hmmm?” Monokuma tilts its head, before breaking out into raucous laughter. “Oh, I see where the confusion is. If you remember, I said that if any of Hoshi’s _friends_ win then he’ll live. But, to quote his own words, Hoshi never had any friends.”

* * *

Saihara doesn’t remember leaving the courtroom, but when he steps back out into the shrine of judgement dawn is breaking. He has no idea what time it is, but he’s on wrong side of feeling about ready to collapse and not wake up for a long time. He drags his feet to the dormitories, not paying attention to anyone or anything else until he’s lying on his bed, too exhausted to get changed or even get under the covers. 

This has been the longest night of his fucking life. Two people are dead. The only person he thought he could rely on betrayed him. On top of it all, he discovered, or maybe remembered, that he has some morally, psychologically fucked up reaction to death, as if there wasn’t already enough wrong with him. 

If he cries himself to sleep, no one has to know. 

* * *

_??? theatre_

_So, you made it through the first phase. It wasn’t easy, even from here. I can only hope you’re ready for phase two. At least now I can put some things into motion. For now, please just survive._

* * *

Shirogane Tsumugi sits in the Mastermind’s room. Not the one built for the show, with the red “remnants of despair” themed decoration and Motherkuma, but the real one, only accessible through a crawlspace hidden just behind Motherkuma. It’s tiny, barely more than a closet, but it has everything she needs. A password protected laptop that she can use to get updates from the team outside working on the season, as well as contact them directly, though she’d been warned that second feature shouldn’t be used often. Monitors line the walls, showing the video feed from nanokumas. 

She’s only half paying attention right now though. It’s not exactly interesting to watch the participants sleep, but she needed somewhere to think and she feels more at home here than in her dorm room. 

She still doesn’t know how she feels about chapter one of the season, though she’d never bring that up to her superiors. Some of the story beats she’d set out in her original plan had been followed, like Akamatsu-san and Saihara-kun finding the secret door— though Ouma-kun had wedged himself in there as well, somehow— and their resulting search for the mastermind. But, without having an ultimate inventor there to modify the cameras, their plan was much more...plain. 

The moment she truly felt at a loss was when Idabashi-kun had ended up as the first victim. The survivor and their perk had always been one of her favourite parts of the show, ever since they introduced it in season 32. It was nice, having a familiar character to root for, even though you knew it wouldn’t end well for them. 

Idabashi-kun, on the other hand, was supposed to have lasted to the end. But without the character she created for him, he was just a weird kid who had finally escaped from his parents home only to die on their TV screens. No doubt the viewers would have found him stale after a while, so maybe it’s for the best.

At least Hoshi isn’t a big loss, with or without his talent or new personality. 

She’s kind of happy she gets to see Akamatsu for a bit longer. She always favoured her, even from the audition process. But of course, even after 52 seasons a female protagonist was a rare thing, and since they’d had one three years ago Shirogane was told she could either give Akamatsu the deuteragonist and love interest role, or she could be the protagonist as long as she died in some kind of shocking twist at the end of chapter one. After they’d gotten rid of super high-school level talents, the executives told her the protagonist had to be to be Saihara after all, as they were already taking so many risks. At first, Shirogane was so mad that she hadn’t even been able to think of a fitting execution she wished she could give them, but it seems to have worked out in her favour after all.

(And watching Saihara break when his darling Akamatsu-san betrayed him had been incredible. The viewers at home would probably be talking about it for days, and Shirogane would be thinking about it for even longer. Screw being the deuteragonist or even the protagonist, Akamatsu suits the role of antagonist beautifully.)

Even though none of this is what she initially planned, she’d thrown herself into a flurry of rewrites and came up with something she hopes is half decent despite all the things she’d had to change. The new motive had been a bust, but it’s hardly the first time a murder has occurred for reasons other than the motive; she has higher hopes for the next one, you can never go wrong with a classic.

It was nice not to have to pretend to be that plain jane girl she’d come up with too. In a place filled with super high school level talents, it’s best for the mastermind to fade into the background and let the real characters carry the season, but now she can really be part of the show. Of course, she couldn’t quite be the real her, but this is closer to who she is than that mousy girl could have ever hoped to be.

The digital clock in the bottom corner of the monitors tells her it’s six in the morning. She should probably go back to the dorms and sleep soon. If she left now she’d probably get a good few hours. It’s pretty common for the participants to sleep later right after a trial. 

She checks the monitors to be sure nothing interesting is happening before slipping her earpiece back in. It’s tiny, completely invisible once it’s in her ear. It’s only for when Team Danganronpa needs to contact her with an absolute emergency that can’t wait until she can check the laptop. She wasn’t expecting to use it much, if at all, but to her surprise a transmission came through last night. 

Some intern she didn’t remember the name of had told her that Idabashi was lying on the brink of death in the library. They couldn’t take the chance that he wouldn’t actually die, as unlikely as it was, so she’d rushed to the girls bathroom and entered the library once she’d been given the all clear. It was unnecessary in the end; Idabashi was dead by the time she’d arrived. She’d ran back to the dining hall, only just sitting down again before Iruma-san and Harukawa-san entered the library. That bookcase always did close far too slowly. 

Once everyone wakes up, they’ll be given access to new parts of the school. That had been the hardest workaround, finding something to do with all the talent labs, but she’s quite proud of her new idea. It had taken a while to implement, and as a result Akamatsu and Iruma’s lab weren’t open as early as they should have been, but she’d gotten word that they’d be ready to go with them at the same time as the planned areas. 

She’s going to be fine. She’s the mastermind of this killing game, and any good mastermind can roll with the punches. Enoshima Junko would be proud of how well she’s keeping control. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did that make sense? Jesus Fuck I hope it made sense. Class trials are hard. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this rollercoaster!


	7. chapter two: who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes - daily life (part one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> insecurity about this story is really hitting me rn but...here's the chapter, hope it isn't as bad as I think it is lmao.

Saihara is dragged from a fitful sleep to the sound of the morning announcement. Even so, he can’t bring himself to get out of bed. Yesterday, they’d had their first murder, class trial, and execution. They’d found the killer, but not the mastermind, and now they all know that that person in among them.

_ Not to mention Akamatsu.  _

Can he get away with staying in his dorm room all day? It’s not like anyone would be looking for him. 

Yeah, he can stay here. He can wallow in his self-pity, fight with his intrusive thoughts, and sooner or later be forgotten. 

_ No faith in yourself _ , Akamatsu’s voice mocks in his head,  _ Easy to manipulate _ . 

**No.**

That wasn’t going to be him anymore. He needs to make sure that that never happens again. He can function just as himself. Obsessing over people was stupid and dangerous; If he needs something to latch onto and drive him, that can be figuring out this killing game and getting out alive. Goals, not people. 

It’s when he drags himself out of his bed that he realises that there’s something different about his room since he fell asleep. There’s something on his bedside table, a piece of paper he knows he never put there. Taking a closer look only proves it’s definitely not his; The paper is thick and creamy white, unlike the cheap lined paper in his notebook. The loopy, ornate handwriting is nothing like his own hurried scrawl, and it’s written in dark purple ink. He kind of doesn’t want to read it, uncomfortable that someone has been in his room and doubtful of their intentions, but his curiosity beats out his doubts. 

'Ouma Kokichi has a secret, and his secret is this:

He hates murder more than anything else in the world.

Well, there it is. Now you know his biggest secret! Does it worry you? And don’t forget, if you know his, doesn’t that mean someone else knows yours?

Upupupu, 

Headmaster Monokuma.'

Saihara frowns at the paper, reading it again to make sure he’s understood. This...is Ouma’s biggest secret? What kind of secret is that? Don’t  _ most  _ people hate murder?

_ Yes, decent people. people who aren’t like you. _

Maybe there’s some kind of double meaning in it that he doesn’t understand? There’s no way something like this could pass as his worst secret if taken at face value...right? It certainly wouldn’t worry anyone else like the note suggests. In fact, the next line is a lot more concerning; someone else knows his biggest secret. 

_ He  _ doesn’t even know his biggest secret. Sure, there’s things he doesn’t tell people, plenty of things, some small and some less small, but he doesn’t know what would be considered his _biggest_ secret, and Ouma’s nonsensical one gives him nothing to go off. 

_ Maybe it’s that you’re a complete mental fuck-up.  _

_ Think of all those little things wrong with what goes on inside your head: the anxiety, the paranoia, the obsessions. _

_ Who out there knows? It’s got to be one of them.  _

He shakes off his thoughts. No, he’s not going to get caught up inside his thoughts again. He’s not going to be taken advantage of, not by Monokuma, not by the mastermind, not by anyone. He doesn’t care who has his secret, they can think what they want about him. He doesn’t have anyone to try and impress. 

(It’s an easier thing to think than put into practice, but he’s trying.)

He jumps when the doorbell rings. Who would be calling for him, especially so early? Whoever it is, they’re very persistent, not even letting the bell breathe before pressing it again. 

“Are you trying to break it?” he sighs as he opens the door very slightly.

Standing on the other side of the door are Ouma and Momota. Weird. The few times he’d seen them interact, they seemed five seconds away from a fight. Ouma seems to sense his confusion. 

“We ran into each other on the way here,” he explains. 

“Right…” He opens the door a bit more, still not enough to let them in but enough that he doesn’t have to crane his neck to peer through the crack. “And you were on your way here...why, exactly?”

“Everyone’s meeting in the dining hall,” Momota says. 

Ouma nods. “It seemed like a good idea to all get together, what with the gifts a certain bear left in our room.” 

The note is back on his dressing table where he found it. He glances over to it, then back to Ouma.

Do they have each other’s secret? Is that how it works?

“Uh...sure. Just let me get dressed.” 

Momota’s eyebrows knit as he looks down at Saihara’s school uniform. “Aren’t you already dressed?” 

“This is the same uniform set as yesterday. I slept in it.” 

“And?” 

_ Okay, gross. _

“...Right. Well. I’ll meet you in the dining hall,” he says, shutting the door in their faces. 

He’s changed and just about to leave, reaching for the hat he wears everyday.

_ Hiding under that hat,  _ her voice whispers.

He grimaces, and for the first time in a long time he leaves his room without it. 

The Exisals are still outside landscaping the courtyard. It actually looks like they’ve made some progress now, but he doesn’t stop to investigate, still feeling wary when he walks past them. 

He enters the dining hall via the door directly from the courtyard. He can see Ouma and Momta at the table, as well as well as Harukawa, Angie, Chabashira, Yumeno, Iruma, Toujou, and Shinguuji. They don’t notice him immediately, but when they do, they  _ stare _ . 

He goes to adjust his hat before remembering he doesn’t have it and lets his arm fall uselessly to his side. 

“Huh.” Toujou hums. “Honestly, I figured you had a bald spot under there.” 

“...I’m a teenager? He protests weakly. 

“I think it looks good, Saihara-chan. It suits you,” Ouma offers. 

“Yeah! Your ahoge is cute.” Yumeno says. 

“So cute! Can I flick it?” 

“No, Ouma-kun, you can not flick my ahoge.” 

Chabashira wrinkles her nose. “I’m not going to compliment a guy. But...It’s  _ not worse _ than the hat.”

“Okay, I’m confused.” Momota frowns. “Does Saihara-kun look different than normal or something?”

Iruma is chugging an extra large coffee and peers up at him with caffeine wide eyes. After looking him up and down she says “Am I already going stir-crazy or is Saihara-kun suddenly kinda hot?”

Saihara knows his cheeks must be red by now. He doesn’t know whether to be flattered or embarrassed or insulted.

“I think I heard somewhere once that girls are most attracted to confident guys.” Yumeno tilts her head. “I mean, not me, obviously, but the ones who like boys.” 

“Nah.” Iruma takes another chug of her coffee. “You always gotta cut the confident ones down to size, otherwise they think they can walk all over you.”

“Full offence, I don’t understand straight people,” Ouma comments. 

Other than Iruma’s coffee, no one at the table is eating, so Saihara skips his trip to the kitchen and sits straight down. The conversation goes on like everything is normal but there’s an undercurrent of discomfort at the table. They saw two people die yesterday. They’re doing their best to act like they didn’t, but it’s inescapable, constant reminders in Iruma’s frantic caffeine ingestion, the way Chabashira stares off into space, the bags under Ouma’s eyes and his unbrushed hair. 

_ Ouma Kokichi hates murder more than anything else in the world.  _

The dining hall fills up quickly, everyone in various states of put-togetherness. Gokuhara looks the worst, eyes red from tears that haven’t quite been wiped away properly. Akamatsu walks in last, Amami by her side. She looks….fine. The two of them gravitate to Shirogane and the trio fall into a hushed conversation. 

Saihara wants to scream. Why are they still talking to her? How, after everything she said yesterday, can they act like she’s still a friend? 

Akamatsu’s empty eyes land on him, mouth curving into a laugh. “Huh, Wonder what prompted that change,” She says knowingly. 

In for four, out for seven.

“Okay, we’re all here now,” Ouma turns their attention to him. “Well, those of us still alive, obviously.”

“Is that really necessary?” Harukawa asks, narrowing her eyes.

“What are we supposed to do? Just pretend it never happened?!”

“We all know it happened. I just don’t think we should upset anyone unnecessarily.”

“Well, I’d imagine we went past that when we started killing each other,” he tells her flatly.

“Did we come here just to argue?” Gokuhara sighs. “Because if we did, I think I’d rather go back to bed.”

“No, that’s not why we’re here,” Saihara says. “We’re here to discuss the new motive, right?”

“I presume by ‘new motive’ you mean what we woke up to in our rooms this morning, correct?” Shinguuji asks. 

“Wait, that’s what that was?” Iruma blinks, finally putting down her now-empty coffee cup. 

“It was about as subtle as a ton of bricks, Iruma-san,” Akamatsu says. 

“Don’t fucking start,” she growls. “I still haven’t forgotten the shit you said yesterday.” 

Amami shakes his head. “Let’s just discuss the motive. I’m guessing everyone got something similar to me. A slip of paper in your room telling you what is apparently the biggest secret of someone else in this academy, right?”

“That’s right, Amami! The darkest secret of one of your beloved classmates.” 

Saihara internally rolls his eyes at the sound of that voice. Of course Monokuma would show up now. 

“What are you doing here?” Toujou curls her lip at the sight of the bear.

“Yeah, haven’t you caused enough trouble?” Gokuhara asks, voice scratchy.

“You kids are so mean,” Monokuma sniffles. “I’m here to explain the motive.” 

“It doesn’t seem particularly hard to understand. You expect us to kill someone because of their secret,” Amami says. 

“Or to protect our own,” Ouma adds.

“Well, yeah, pretty much,” Monokuma acquiesces.

“Is there anything else we should know?” Shirogane asks. “Like...any additional rules?” 

“Not really. The motives are yours to do what you want with. Trade them, reveal them, eat them for all I care. As long as it ends in death, that’s all that matters.” 

“So, if we wanted we could all just reveal the secrets right now?” Ouma double checks. 

“Sure. But that is really okay? To just reveal other people’s secrets?! I know I’d be pretty mad if that happened to me…” Monokuma trails off.

“Tenko hates to say it, but she kind of agrees. The secret she has...she can’t share it. And...if she’s right about what hers is, she doesn’t want it to be shared either. Tenko just isn’t ready for that.”

“Okay, who else agrees with Chabashira-san?” Harukawa asks. 

“I do.” Shinguuji nods sagely. “It is not my place to say what is on my slip of paper. I am uncomfortable enough that I have been told without their permission as it is.”

“Yeah,” Iruma agrees. “Even I’m not enough of a bitch to go running my mouth off about this.” 

From this, Saihara learns that at least some of the secrets given out must be worse than Ouma’s. He would have felt no issue sharing with it, barely understanding how it’s a motive from the information he had to work with. 

“I just want to know who has my secret.” Momota scowls.

“I’m curious about that too,” Amami admits. “Whatever that piece of paper says about me may be the only chance I get of actually learning about myself. Unless it’s about my weird birthmark.”

“Weird birthmark?” Shirogane asks, suddenly intrigued.

“It looks like Peru.” 

“Is it on your dick?” Iruma asks with no hesitation. 

“This really isn’t important right now.” Ouma shakes his head. “...but  _ is _ it on your dick?” 

Amami winks. “There’s a reason it’s a secret.”

“What if we didn’t tell each other’s secrets, but just admit whose we have? Then, they can decide for themselves if they’re comfortable with it being shared or not,” Harukawa gets the discussion back on track.

“But what if they aren’t?” Amami asks. “If we know who isn’t comfortable having their secret being shared, people might just end up becoming paranoid about how bad that secret could be.” 

“That is a good point,” she concedes.

“Also, let’s not forget this is a motive,” Akamatsu says. “If someone knows who has their secret and really wants it hidden, it makes targeting them for murder a hell of a load easier.”

“Shouldn’t you be in favour of that then, Akamatsu-chan? Y’know, to set up your next trap and all!” Ouma raises an eyebrow. 

Akamatsu shrugs. “When another murder occurs, I’ll obviously be the first suspect. I’d be stupid to try again so soon.” 

“Wow. That is not at all reassuring, thanks!” 

“Can we just come to a decision?” Toujou asks.

“I think we should just rip the band-aid off and tell all the secrets now. Like...group bonding!” Ouma grins. 

“Tenko isn’t saying hers!” Chabashira repeats. “Why do you want to know our secrets so badly, you degenerate?”

“I want to know mine,” Amami repeats. “But I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable by making them admit something they don’t want to.” 

“I think this is an all or nothing situation,” Harukawa says. “And as some people obviously aren’t willing to share the secrets they’ve been given, or their own, then it seems best that we just ignore the motive altogether.” 

“So that’s it?” Momota clenches his hand into a fist. “We just walk around knowing that someone here knows personal shit about us?” 

“How bad can our secrets even be?” Yumeno asks innocently. “We’re like...16?” 

“Do you not know how old you are?” Saihara asks, alarmed. 

“I...thought I did?” She says. “How old are you?” 

“Obviously I’m…” he trails off. How old  _ is _ he? He tries to remember the last birthday he had, but nothing is clear. Something has  _ definitely  _ happened to their memories. But why? And why are the pieces missing at random, other things clear as day and many, like his age, hidden under foggy uncertainty that he doesn’t even realise is there until he’s forced to think about it?

“What if we’re actually like 25 or something?” She leans closer to him conspiratorially. “I always thought Momota-kun’s facial hair was suspicious.” 

Surprising them both, he laughs, before schooling his features into a more neutral expression.  _ Don’t trust anyone _ , he reminds himself. 

“I think we’re definitely still teenagers, at least,” he tells her. “I don’t feel any older than that.” 

“So, if we’ve settled on just ignoring the motive, then can I get breakfast now?” Toujou asks impatiently. 

“Ah, one more thing!” Monokuma announces. 

Groans resound around the dining hall. 

“Hey! Enough of that attitude! Especially when I’m giving you a reward.”

“A reward?” Shinguuji asks curiously. 

“Since you all did so well in the class trial, I wanted to show you how proud I am of my students. So...behold!”

Monokuma pulls a handful of items out of seemingly nowhere— Saihara decides he doesn’t want to know where it was keeping that stuff— and drops them on the table. 

“An ancient passport, red dragon orb, hexagonal crank from some zombie game, and an ocarina.” 

“Wow!” Ouma enthuses. “This is worthless.” 

Toujou stares witheringly at the mess. “What do you expect us to do with your garbage?” 

“You’ll figure it out!” Monokuma snaps. “Or maybe you won’t, I don’t really know what boring bastards like you are capable of. Okay, here’s a hint, some places in this school that were previously closed to you have opened up. The small building off the shrine of judgement and the room on the second floor with a piano on the door are now open, but you have to work for the rest!”

With that, it disappears out of the dining hall. 

Saihara takes a closer look at the items, frowning thoughtfully. “I think I know what we’re supposed to do with this stuff. Well...the dragon’s gem, anyway.” 

Ouma nods. “I think I know where the passport goes too.” 

“You two wanna explain what the fuck you’re talking about?” Momota says. 

Ouma explains how there’s a bunch of spots around the school that seems to correspond with the items they’ve been given. After a lot of arguing, they agree to split up into teams to cover as much ground as possible (and so none of them are alone together), before meeting up at the gym to discuss what they find. 

Since Saihara is pretty sure he knows what to do with the dragon’s gem, he’s in charge of that with a team consisting of Harukawa and Toujou.

Ouma takes the Ancient passport with Akamatsu and Yumeno.

Amami, Shirogane, and Shinguuji, and Iruma are given the hexagonal crank. 

Which leaves Chabashira, Gokuhara, Momota, and Angie with the ocarina. 

He wishes he could work alone, but he understands why they have to stick together. At least he wasn’t put on a team with Akamatsu, since Ouma was oddly insistent about her sticking with him. He doesn’t mind Harukawa— she’s a stable and logical presence in the group and doesn’t seem to have any bad intentions. He doesn’t dislike Toujou either, he just finds her unapproachable. The only people who he really sees talking to her on a regular basis are Iruma, who she seems to have formed some kind of friendship with, and Yumeno, who can and will talk to anybody.

“So, you have an idea where this goes?” Toujou examines the red gemstone they’ve been given as the other ‘students’ bustle out of the dining hall. 

He nods. “There’s a bronze statue of a dragon on the second floor.”

“Let’s get this over with.” She hands the gem to him. “Lead the way.” 

He starts to doubt himself when he gets to the statue. How is this supposed to unlock new areas of ‘the academy’? Nothing here looks like a door. Maybe Monokuma is just messing with them.

“Pass it here.” Harukawa holds her hand out for the gem. “If you’re unsure, I’ll do it.” 

“No, I’ve got it.”

He slides the dragon’s gem into the statue. It’s a perfect fit. As it clicks into place, there’s a sudden loud noise that makes his ears ring and the wall behind the statue violently crumbles. 

There’s dust everywhere. It’s in his eyes and his lungs and coating his skin. He coughs violently, doubling in on himself until it finally starts to settle. 

“What was that?” Toujou asks, wiping some dust off the skirt of her seifuku. 

“An implosion,” Harukawa states, matter-of-fact. “My guess is there was some kind of set up in the wall, and the gem being placed in the statue was the trigger.”

“You’d think they could have just built a door,” Saihara mumbles.

Now that the dust has cleared he peers into the opening the implosion left. It’s a blue stone hallway that doesn’t match up with what they’ve seen of the building so far.

“Do you think it’s safe?” Toujou asks.

“There’s only one way to find out,” Harukawa states. “But be careful.” 

They step carefully over the rubble and into the hallway. At first, it looks empty, but around a small corner they find a door. It’s fancy, like those other mysterious doors they’ve never been able to enter; the door has a rather gothic scheme of black, purple and grey. 

Saihara half expects it to be locked, but though it’s heavy it pushes open easy enough.

His shoes touch plush, white carpet. The walls are white too, a kind of flawless white that shows great care. The first thing that catches his eye is an antique french bed, made of black mahogany wood with silver trimmings. The plush looking bedding set is a deep grey. The furniture scattered around the room matches the black mahogany of the bed frame. There isn’t much on the walls except a single framed, large black and white photo above the desk showing scenery of...London? He thinks that’s London.

“What on earth…” Toujou gasps. 

“Is something the matter, Toujou-san?” Harukawa asks. 

“This is my bedroom! Why is my bedroom here?” 

“Your bedroom?” Saihara swirls around, catching the shell-shocked look on her face. “As in...the one in your house?” 

“No, the one in my summer house.” She rolls her eyes. “Yes, the one in my house. The one in the summer house has white mahogany, not black.”

“But why would your bedroom be here?” Harukawa asks.

Saihara isn’t surprised when Momokuma shows up. The thing seems to love spying on them, and answering questions that weren’t directed at it. 

“The Ultimate Academy is your new home! But I thought you could use a touch of your old homes to help you settle in...or help you want to get out.”

“Well, I suppose it will be nice to sleep somewhere other than the dormitory. The mattress in there may as well be made of nails.” 

“Nuh-uh, Toujou!” Monokuma growls. “Sleeping anywhere except the dormitories is strictly forbidden.” 

“That wasn’t in the rules,” she complains. 

A beep sounds from their pockets. 

“It is now. Get back to exploring. I have more of you bastards I’ve gotta talk to.” 

Once Monokuma leaves, the three of them exchange a look of confusion. 

“Why give us bedrooms if we aren’t even allowed to sleep in them?” Harukawa asks the obvious question. 

“I don’t know.” Toujou sighs. “Why give us classrooms if no classes are being held? Nothing here has ever made sense.” 

“I think the more concerning question is how Monokuma knows what our rooms look like,” Saihara says throughtfully. 

“Were they stalking us?” Harukawa asks. 

Toujou shakes her head. “That shouldn’t be possible. No one can get near my house. My parents obviously wanted to avoid paparazzi and crazy fans, so there’s a gate stretching out for miles across the estate, not to mention security cameras.” 

“That does make it complicated,” Saihara replies, filing the information away. 

“We can discuss it with the others later,” Harukawa says. “For now, let’s search this room. If that’s okay with you, that is, Toujou-san?” 

She shrugs. “Sure, just don’t touch anything that looks expensive. 

_ Most of this room looks expensive.  _

The bookshelves carry only a handful of actual books. Picking one up at random, Saihara flicks it open only to find the pages cut out in the center, a flask hidden inside.

“Uh...Toujou-san?” He asks, holding it up for her to see. Is this something Monokuma left here?

“My vodka!” She exclaims gratefully, snatching the flask out of his hands. 

“You...hide your alcohol inside books?” 

“My parents were really against me drinking...or doing anything fun like that,” she explains. “Not because they were anti-booze or whatever, but they didn’t want me getting them into a scandal. However,” she shakes the flask. “It’s not like they’ll know what I’m up to while I’m stuck here.” 

He lets Toujou pocket the flask and goes back to his search. There’s some delicate glass trinkets on the bookshelf, but little else.

“Hey, do you think this works?” Harukawa is looking through the desk-drawers and pulls out a sleek silver laptop.

“We should check,” he says immediately. 

If they can get this laptop to work, then they might be able to connect to the outside world and call for help. It seems unlikely that Monokuma or the mastermind would leave something that dangerous to their plan lying around, but it’s worth a shot. 

Harukawa places the laptop on top of the desk and the three of them crowd around it. He holds his breath as she presses down on the power button, letting it out in surprise when the screen lights up and the familiar electrical whir starts. 

“Welcome, Toujou Kirumi,” he reads off as the words appear on screen. Following that is a list: “Hope, Despair, Past, Future, Truth, Lies.”

“Toujou-san, do you know what this is?” He asks, frowning. 

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. At least...I don’t think I do.” 

Saihara pulls out the desk chair and takes a seat. He tries clicking on the screen, her name, the list, and pushes about every button but the screen doesn’t change.

“Well, this is pointless,” Toujou complains. 

“Still.” Harukawa stands upright, clearly giving up as well. “We should tell the others about it. It’s weird, and they might know something we don’t.” 

They leave Toujou’s bedroom (and it’s weird to think of it like that, but there’s nothing else to call it either) and emerge the other side of the stone hallway. It looks like the main body of the second floor, though it’s just hallways, the middle of the room has no floor, allowing them to see down into the entrance hall on the first floor. 

Following the walkways to the other side, he finds Chabashira, Yumeno and Angie staring at a gold and red treasure chest sat conspicuously in the middle of the floor.

“Angie-san,” Harakuwa says, heading over to the three girls. “I thought that you were taking the ocarina, what are you doing up here? Is everything alright?” 

Angie nods. “We found where the crank goes, and there wasn’t much to explore there, so Angie wanted to go find you. Chabashira-san wanted to look for Yumeno-san, so after finding her the three of us came here.” 

Harukawa frowns, pulling on her pigtails. “You were alone with Chabashira-san? We weren’t supposed to be in groups of less than three.” 

“Hey!” Yumeno whines. “Chabashira-chan wouldn’t hurt anyone.” 

“I’m not insinuating she would, but it was still for everyone’s safety. You should be worried about Chabashira-san going off alone with somebody too.” 

“Tenko trusts the girls. Besides, if anyone tries anything she’s strong enough to defend herself,” Chabashira insists.

That’s probably true. Chabashira’s muscles may not be as prominent as Gokuhara’s, but visibly she seems the strongest of the girls, and more so than most of the boys too.

“I’m glad you’re all safe,” Harukawa says. “What is this, anyway?” She gestures to the chest. 

“Ah, we don’t know. Angie is unsure about opening it,” Angie replies. 

“Tenko thinks we should. She can handle whatever’s in there,” Chabashira argues. 

“Yeah! Chabashira-chan could totally do it! Trust me, I’ve felt her abs,” Yumeno gushes. 

A furious blush takes over Chabashira’s whole face. “Yumeno-san! Don’t—“ She cuts herself off. “A-anyway, I’ll open the chest. The rest of you can stand back if you want.” 

Saihara stays where he is, figuring it’s already a safe enough distance. Toujou stands behind him, possibly in an attempt to use him as a human shield if worst comes to worst. Angie moves back too, but stands on her own. Harukawa, on the other hand, moves closer to the two girls still by the chest and Yumeno doesn’t move, eyes glued to Chabashira. 

Chabashira kicks the chest open and glances inside before reaching in. He doesn’t see what she takes from it until she turns around, the thing held in one of her hands. 

It looks...kind of like a flashlight? Maybe more like a handheld spotlight, considering how big it is. The design borders on steampunk, what with the strange bronze attachments on the handle. 

“Is anything in this place not garbage?” Toujou asks derisively. 

“What is it?” Yumeno gets closer, poking the device curiously. 

“Yumeno-san, that’s dangerous,” Harukawa tells her. 

“Harukawa-san is right, Yumeno-san. At least wait for one of the boys to poke at it first,” Chabashira says. 

“No one is poking at it for now,” Harukawa says sternly, death glare in place. “We’ll take it with us to the gym after we’ve explored whatever else is up here.” 

Chabashira holds on to the flashlight-thing and both her and Yumeno decide to stick with Saihara, Toujou, and Harukawa’s group as they continue looking around. Not far from the chest is a blue door, butterflies fluttering across it. 

“This is another bedroom, isn’t it?” Yumeno asks, suddenly solemn. 

“Ah, you found one too?” Saihara asks her. 

She nods. “That’s what my group found. We used the passport by the gym and the wall broke open, inside was a door with strawberries and some...weird pentagram thing? Anyway, when we went inside, it was my room.” 

“I can’t imagine that was pleasant,” Harukawa says sympathetically. 

“Well, at first I was just confused. Then I was happy, because all my stuff was there, even the plushie I always slept with at home, and my meds that I haven’t been able to take the past few days. But...It’s still kinda creepy.” 

“Want some vodka?” Toujou asks with a smirk, tipping the flask at her. Saihara  _ thinks  _ that might be her attempt at making things better, but he’s not really sure— either way, Yumeno declines. 

Chabashira is the one who opens the door and they crowd inside the new room. It’s a far cry from Toujou’s— the carpet is thin and scratchy and a muddied brown. The dark green wallpaper is peeling and instead of one large bed, there’s multiple beds inside. The bed-frames look rickety and the mattresses thin. Other than that, there’s almost nothing else in the room other than some basic old pine furniture. 

“Is this supposed to be one of our bedrooms?” Chabashira asks doubtfully. “It doesn’t look like it belongs to any one person...or anyone, for that matter, considering the lack of stuff.” 

Saihara is confused too. If anything, this looks like another dormitory, though it’s miles behind the one they’ve been provided outside. It’s Harukawa who reminds him of something he hadn’t thought about since the last motive was provided to them. 

“Didn't Gokuhara-kun say he grew up in care? This must be his room, though obviously he shared the real one with others.”

“You think so?” Chabashira asks, heading further into the room to get a better look. 

“I’m certain,” Harukawa says. “I was in care too, though only briefly.” 

They give the room a brief search, but it’s as bare as it looks on the surface. In one of the bedside drawers there’s a toolkit, some practical hair accessories like ties and bobby pins, and a stick of gum. The rest are empty, leading Saihara to the conclusion that this bed must have been Gokuhara’s, while the belongings of the other kids who shared the room weren’t brought over or imitated.

The last place he looks is under Gokuhara’s bed, and that’s where he finds it: a clunky notebook laptop. 

They sit on one of the beds as Saihara turns it on. 

Welcome Gokuhara Gonta

> HOPE

> DESPAIR

> PAST

> FUTURE

> TRUTH 

> LIES

Again, trying to actually interact with the laptop gives them nothing. But now Saihara has a theory to confirm. 

“Yumeno-san,” he starts. “Did you find a laptop like this in your room too?”

“Yeah,” she confirms. “I didn’t really understand what it meant, though.“

“None of us know what it is either,” Harukawa tells her. 

“I think it must be important, though. There’s probably one of these in all our rooms.” What Saihara doesn’t say is that the words spark something in the back of his mind— not the knowledge of what they are, but the feeling that that knowledge is being held back from him.

“This place is depressing,” Toujou says. “Are we done yet?” 

“I think we’re done with this room, but I noticed some stairs in the hallway that must lead up to the next floor, so we should check that out too,” Saihara answers.

The first room they come across upstairs is a black and orange door featuring a decal of a tennis racket. Saihara goes to open it, knowing what to expect from these rooms now, but to his surprise the door doesn’t budge. 

“Huh,” He says flatly. “It’s locked.” 

“Let Tenko try,” Chabashira pushes him aside and attempts to open it, but nothing changes. 

“Why would it be locked?” Harukawa asks, furrowing her brow. “The other rooms are open. I thought by gaining access to this area nothing here would be closed off.”

Monokuma approaches from behind them. “This bedroom belonged to Hoshi Ryoma. Rooms belonging to students who died before their room was opened will remain closed.”

Yumeno places a finger on her chin in a thoughtful expression. “But why?”

“Well, it’s no good to them now, is it?” Monokuma laughs. “Better hope there was nothing important in there.” 

Deeming Hoshi’s room a lost cause, they move on. There’s only one more room, as well as a strange door that seems to imitate pixel art but doesn’t open. The other room has a fancy, but surprisingly simple red and gold door. 

As they enter, Harukawa takes a deep breath. “This is mine.” 

The walls are a burgundy colour and the floor is hardwood. Harukawa’s bed is shoved into a corner, unmade black bedding bunched at the bottom. Overall, the room isn’t that exciting— just a normal bedroom, not that different to the one Saihara sleeps in back home.

They look around with Harukawa’s permission, though she warns them they probably won’t find much. 

Saihara ignores most of the things in the room, instead immediately searching for the laptop he’s sure must be here now. The only thing is, he cant find it anywhere. Is his hypothesis wrong?

Harukawa sits on the bed, seemingly uncomfortable even though it’s her own. “In the corner of the room there’s a loose piece of wall. I used to hide stuff in it all the time.”

Once he knows it’s there, it’s easy to find. Wedging out the piece of wall he finds what he’s looking for (among some other things), though it’s a phone instead of a laptop.

“Same message as the others?” She asks.

He nods, handing the phone to her so she can look for herself. 

“I wonder why it’s a phone this time,” Yumeo says.

Harukawa is still reading the words on the screen as she answers. “Maybe because I don’t have a laptop? In my real room, I mean. I never really found one necessary when a phone was capable of all the same things I’d use it for.” 

“They even know those little details about us?” Chabashira’s face is sour. “Tenko feels violated, and it’s not even her room yet.” 

Yumeno runs a hand over Chabashira’s shoulder, who stiffens but eventually leans into the touch. “Does the phone work? I know the laptops didn't, but maybe the phone is different.”

Harukawa seems to consider this, then presses the device’s home button, jumping up onto her phone when the screen changes. 

A list of contacts appears, though all of them are Monokuma. Fiddling with it a bit more, Harukawa gets the number keypad up.

“We could try and make a phone call!” Yumeno announces. 

“Who would we call?” Saihara wonders out loud. 

“The police, obviously,” Toujou says. 

Harukawa types 119 into the phone with steady hands. To everyone’s surprise, it rings. 

“Put it on speaker!” Yumeno urges.

Harukawa does as she requests, and they wait with baited breath. 

“You have reached Monokuma Law Enforcement! If you are currently being murdered, press one. If you are currently murdering someone, press two. If there is a horrible, raging fire then hang up the phone and do something about it.” 

“That bear…” Harukawa sighs. “It only did this to toy with us.” 

“All cops are bastards,” Chabashira mutters. 

With that settled, Saihara turns his attention to the other things that were hidden inside Harukawa’s wall. One of them is a pile of money— counting it quickly, it’s roughly 70,000 yen. Not a crazy amount, but more than most teenagers would have saved up. 

“Uh...Why do you keep your money in the wall?” Chabashira asks.

“No real reason,” Harukawa explains. “It just seemed like the safest spot.” 

The only other thing in the wall is a photograph. It’s a bit crumpled, but smoothing it out reveals a younger Harukawa— maybe ten years old or so— with her arm around a boy of a similar age. He smiles brightly at the camera, ruffling Harukawa’s hair while she glares at him, but it’s clear there’s affection behind it. 

“Aw, Harukawa-san! You look so cute,” Yumeno says. “Is this your brother?”

Toujou peers at the photo. “Looks more like a boyfriend to me,”

“He was just a friend,” Harukawa says sharply. Her expression is darker than Saihara has ever seen it. “If you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to talk about it.” 

They let the subject drop and start heading towards the gym now they’ve seen all there is to see of the new area. Chabashira is still holding the flashlight thing firmly, though they agreed not to move anything else from its rightful place. 

They’re the last ones to arrive at the gym. Once they’re all there, the meeting is called to order and they agree for each group to take turns talking about what they found. 

“I’ll go first,” Ouma says, leaving no room for argument. “My team—“ 

“Who elected you leader?” Akamatsu interrupts. 

Ouma clicks his tongue, annoyed. “I’m sorry, but I have a hearing condition that stops me from listening to attempted murderers. Now, as I was saying— my team took the ancient passport, which we put into a slot by the gym. The wall broke down and behind it was a small section with a single room in it. It was, as far as she remembers, an exact copy of Yumeno-san’s bedroom.” 

“What the fuck?” Momota bursts. “Are you fucking with us?” 

“No,” Yumeno backs Ouma up. “It really was my bedroom. It had all my stuff in it and everything— well, except my clothes.”

“Monokuma has a school uniform fetish, I’m calling it now,” Iruma says.

“I take it you did not find anything similar to what Ouma-kun and Yumeno-san describe?” Shinguuji directs this question at Momota. 

“Nah. Just a pool.” 

“Our team had the ocarina,” Gokuhara elaborates. “We used it on a statue in the courtyard and a pool building opened up.”

“The pool itself was weird. The water level was really low, and there were a bunch of stupid rules on the side like no swimming at night time. Tenko doesn’t remember them all, so it would be better if you checked it out for yourself,” Chabashira adds. 

He can’t help but notice that Chabashira seems to have become more social recently. The first couple of days, she didn’t talk to most of them nearly as much as she does now, seeming to want to distance herself. He wonders if it’s because she was just adjusting to their situation before and this is what she’s usually like, or maybe a certain redhead had some influence.

“We had the hexagonal crank,” Shirogane starts. “We inserted it into a slot by the gate in the courtyard, and the gate opened to reveal a new outside area. There was a casino there...and a love hotel.” She directs the last part to Akamatsu, smiling suggestively.

Saihara’s stomach lurches. He never liked Shirogane, but while before it was jealousy, now it’s just disgust. Does no one but him care about what Akamatsu did? She admitted to using and betraying him. Even if they don’t care about that, shouldn’t they at least care that she tried to kill someone? 

_ Ouma cares _ , his mind reminds him. 

With a jolt he realises it’s true. Ouma had brought up what Akamatsu had tried to do twice already. The way he says it doesn’t make it clear if he actually dislikes her for it or is just trying to antagonise her, but the secret sitting back in Saihara’s dorm room certainly implies the former.

Harukawa explains the areas they found when they used the dragon gem, including the fact that Hoshi’s room was closed due to the fact he had died and the new rule about not being able to sleep outside the dormitories in case anyone hasn’t checked their monopads since the update. 

“The strangest thing was that there were electronic devices— laptops and phones— in each of the bedrooms, unusable apart from a message welcoming the owner of the room followed by a list of words,” she finishes. 

“Hope, despair, past, future, truth, lies,” Saihara recaps. 

Shirogane hums thoughtfully. “Despair, huh? Well, we’re certainly in a despairing situation.”

No one has any idea what the list means, but Saihara gets the feeling that none of them can escape the fact that some of the words strike a chord...for him, it’s mainly ‘despair’. He feels drawn to it, but he has no idea why.

“There’s one more thing.” Chabashira holds up the flashlight-like item they found. “This was in a chest on the second floor.” 

“What is that?” Ouma immediately scuttles over to take a closer look. 

Momokuma stands at the podium it had first appeared on when they arrived at this ‘academy’.

“Ah, I see you’ve found my flashback light.” 

“Flashback light?” Gokuhara asks, scratching his jaw. 

“That flashlight doesn’t shine light on darkness, it sheds light on your lost memories.” 

“So you admit you took our memories from us?” Akamatsu scowls. 

"Well, it would be pretty convenient for you all to forget so much naturally. Your memories  _ were  _ removed...though I don’t think it’s fair to just blame me.” 

“So what does the light do, exactly?” Shirogane asks. 

“The flashback light will return one memory to you that you’ve forgotten. It only has one use, so if you don’t use it as a group then the people who aren’t there will never recover the memory.”

“But how does that work?” Amami asks, a serious look on his face. “A light that cures amnesia sounds a little hard to believe.” 

Monokuma grumbles, clearly annoyed about being challenged. “I’m a headmaster, not a scientist. However, if you must know...your memories aren’t so much gone as they are...closed off. This light emits special waves that stimulate your brain to knock down that wall your memories are hidden behind.”

The bear disappears, leaving them all in varying states of confusion. 

“Is that really possible?” Gokuhara asks. 

“I believe it may be,” Shinguuji answers. “I remember reading something about neuroscientists working on a project like this. However, when I read about it, the technology was still uncertain. The official report said it would be used…” they trail off, suddenly uncertain. “It would be used for...I can’t remember. I apologise.”

“That’s more information than we had before. Thank you, Shinguuji,” Maki tells them. “So...do we use it?” 

Ouma frowns, still examining the machine. “It seems way too suspicious. Who knows what kind of side-effects this thing could cause?” 

“A-Angie is in agreement.” Angie wraps her arms around her torso in what seems like an attempt to comfort herself. “It could be dangerous.” 

“That’s bullshit!” Momota argues. “There’s nothing to be scared of from a dinky flashlight.” 

“Yeah,” Iruma says. “It’s probably a waste of time, but it won’t hurt us.” 

“If we still want to leave this place as a team, I think using it would be best,” Amami states. “Maybe these memories will help us figure out what’s going on.” 

“Of course you’d say that!” Chabashira rounds on him. “You haven’t exactly hidden how much you want your memories back. Typical male, only thinking of himself.” 

Amami’s expression darkens. “I do want my memories. But more than that, I want us to get out of this killing game. Trust me when I say I’m thinking in the best interests of all of you.” 

“I’ll go with whatever everyone else thinks is best,” Gokuhara says. 

Shirogane agrees with him, as does Yumeno. Toujou also says she doesn’t care either way. 

“You’re all too trusting.” Akamatsu smiles that fake-sweet smile that still chills Saihara’s blood. “That thing is just another ploy to keep this killing game going.” 

The debate goes on for what feels like hours to Saihara. He does want to remember what he’s forgotten. He needs as much information as possible to work out and how and why they ended up in this situation, but he lets the others argue it out. If they decide not to use it, he can always sneak back in and use it for himself.

“There are some things I’ve forgotten that I would very much like to remember,” Shinguuji says solemnly. “I admit that this flashback light could be a trick or a ploy, but...on the off-chance, then I have to, please.” 

“You know what?” Ouma grins. “I’ve changed my mind. Let’s use it, it won’t be boring, at least!” 

After that, the tide turns in favour of attempting to recover their lost memories. 

“Okay.” Chabashira takes a deep breath. “In that case, Tenko will turn it on. Is everybody ready?” 

They nod their assent, and Chabashira clicks the button. 

The world warps. 


	8. chapter two: who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes - daily life (part two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's some content warnings in the end notes. I don't think they're anything too bad, but head there and check if you're worried.

Saihara Shuichi is behind the counter of his workplace. He’s had the job at this convenience store for six months now, and everyday it just gets more mind-numbing. It drives home the thought his life has no purpose, drilling it into his very being. 

“Saihara-kun!” His manager bellows from the staff room. “I thought I told you to restock the energy drinks.

Saihara grits his teeth. “Wasn’t [>!’-] supposed to do that?”

The manager comes out from the store room and leans on the counter. “Don’t tell me you didn't hear?”

“Hear what?” 

“[>!’-] disappeared. Looks like [#%^*] finally picked her.” 

Saihara looks up, curious. “[#%^*]?” 

“You’ve never heard of it?” His manager asks. “Huh. Well, anyway, get back to stocking those shelves.” 

* * *

Angie Yonaga holds tightly to her small bag of belongings as she goes through the airport. It had taken a long time, but she was far away now, she was safe.

Someone bumps into her shoulder, almost knocking her over. They start yelling at her, but she only understands every other word. 

“Angie is sorry! Angie should have looked where she was going! She didn't…” she trails off her stumbled words, holding back tears. 

“Tch.” the person who bumped into her starts to walk away. “Fucking weirdo, kids like her are prime material for [#%^*]”

* * *

[>€!?~] [•;!~_] wonders if he is about to die. It’s his first winter out here alone and it’s so, so cold. He laughs to himself. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

At first, he thinks he’s hearing things when he notices the crying. Did freezing to death come with hallucinations? Who knows. But no, it’s definitely there.

He leaves the minimal shelter he has to go find the source of it. He’s weak right now, but as long as he keeps his wits about him he'll be fine. He knows this area. 

He finds a girl, probably around his age, maybe a year or two younger. Her head is buried in her knees, trying to conceal her sobs. 

“Hey! Are you okay?” He asks. “I’ll have you know this is my crying spot! Just kidding, I’ve never cried. My mother would have been concerned about it if she’d cared about me at all!”

The girl doesn’t stop crying, but she does look up...the look is her eyes...It’s pure and unadulterated despair.

“They took him!” She wails. “[*^%=] [#%^*] got [<~^=}] and now he’s dead!. My brother is dead!”

“Uhh, woah. Okay...slow down. What’s [*^%=] [#%^*]?”

* * *

Iruma Miu walks home from school alone. So, not a change for her. That doesn’t mean she hates it any less.

“Hey!” A voice yells from across the street. “Why not unbutton that shirt a little more? Show it all off!”

And this is why she hates it. 

“Go fuck your mom, you desperate little bitch!” She yells back. “You could never afford me.” 

The face across the street scowls, and starts heading in her direction with a determined gait. 

_Fuck_. 

When she sees someone else turn the corner into the street, she runs up to them without a second thought. 

“Hi baby!” She says, linking her arm through theirs. “I was waiting for you! let’s go home!” 

The man who was approaching her walks away and she takes a breath of relief before pushing this person away.

“Uh...do I know you?” They ask her. 

“Obviously not.” She rolls her eyes. “Now fuck off!” 

“S...sure.” They say. “But...I was trying to [?,:/& %] [*^>€] [#%^*]. I don’t know where I’m going though. I believe I am lost. Do you know where [€$*¥] [>%?] [!$*>] [£!()]? Please, I don’t have much time.”

She blinks. “The fuck is [#%^*]?”

* * *

Chabashira Tenko pushes herself from where she’d landed on the ground. Scrapes decorate her body, blood trickling from them like splatter artwork. 

_Stupid_ , she thinks to herself, _Two years of aikido lessons and you’re just going to let your friend push to the ground and walk away without even defending yourself?_

No, he’s not her friend anymore, that was pretty clear. Really, she should have known it a long time ago.

“Oh my gosh!” two girls rush up to her, leaning over and fretting. “Are you okay?” 

_They’re so pretty_...no! stop!

“I’m fine,” she forces out. “Don’t worry about me, please! Just...leave me alone.” 

They look uncertain, and help her to her feet anyway. 

“Well, I’m glad you’re okay!” One of them smiles. “Finding you like that, with the blood, i almost thought this was [#%^*].” 

“[#%^*]?” She asks. 

* * *

Harukawa Maki rolls her eyes as Hiroto wipes Ice cream on her nose with a bright smile. “You’re so childish sometimes, you know that?”

He laughs. “Your blush betrays how you really feel, Maki-chan!”

“Whatever,” she answers, pulling on her pigtails. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.” 

“You don’t have to protect me, Maki. We’ve been over this.” 

“I don’t know, Hiroto. I’ve heard some...things...lately. A couple of people in this area have gone missing.”

“Oh, right. I heard they [“@&!] [£ >] that thing, you know, [#%^*]?”

“[#%^*]?” She tenses. “So the rumours are true, huh?”

* * *

Momota Kaito wipes blood off his chin. Fuck, first _him_ , now his own body?

 _He’s_ right. he'll never be strong enough. he'll never be enough of a man. 

Whatever. It's fine. He’ll hang out here for a few hours. He’ll sneak back home when it’s dark and in the morning it will be like none of this ever happened.

Like a coward. 

“Hey, kid. Are you okay? You’re bleeding.” 

Momota sees red. 

“I’m not fucking weak!” He yells, pinning the stranger against the closest wall. “You think I’m weak? I’ll fucking show you who’s weak!” 

The fear in the strangers eyes. The rush of power he feels course through him. 

Is this how _he_ feels?

“Jeez kid!” The stranger sputters. “I was only checking on you. Fuck, you’d be perfect for [#%^*].” 

Momota doesn’t know what that is, and right now he doesn’t care as he presses his arm down harder on the strangers windpipe just to see a little bit more of that fear before he lets them go...like the coward he is. 

* * *

Yumeno Himiko is dozing in her hospital bed. God, she’s so tired. She’s been tired for as long as she can remember.

Her mom is next to her, stroking her hair in that same soothing way she’s done since Yumeno was a child. It’s nice...as long as she has things like this, everything is okay, no matter how tired she is.

A nurse heads over. Yumeno doesn’t see them, but she hears the clack of the flat shoes against the linoleum floor. 

“ _You need to be careful_ ,” The nurse whispers harshly, but she’s not talking to Yumeno. 

“Be careful about what?” Her mom asks. 

“They’re...looking for people like her. People they think [€^*] [?$+%,].” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hears her mom whisper back. “Who are ‘ _they’_?”

“[*^%=] [#%^*]”

Yumeno doesn’t know what that is, and right now she’s too tired to ask, so she just lets herself finally drift off fully.

* * *

Toujou Kirumi is sitting on the kitchen island, swinging her legs. Her parents would never let her sit this way if they were home— it’s inelegant, they’d always say— but they were rarely home.

“Here you go, Toujou-san!” Saito— their maid— places an omelette down next to her. 

“Thank you,” she says.

“I believe your parents should be home in a few days. Their latest shoot is wrapping up soon.” 

“Oh...okay.” 

Saito ignores her disinterested response, continuing to talk as she wipes down the counter. 

“I think they should take a break once they’re home. I’ve heard some disturbing rumours [€^?!] [¥.,>] [€!+=]. A young girl, only a few years older than you, may already have been dragged into it.”

Toujou picks at her omelette. “Dragged into what?”

“[#%^*]”

* * *

Gokuhara Gonta sits in his therapist’s office, listening to her kind and patient words after he explained some of his feelings. 

“Your anger doesn’t make you an idiot, Gokuhara-kun.” She smiles at him. “We’ve been doing these sessions for months now, and you’ve made a real improvement. You should be proud of yourself. 

“I just..” He shakes his head, struggling to get his thoughts out. “What if I’m just a stupid, violent monster?” 

She writes something down on her notepad before speaking. “That isn’t true. Your circumstances don’t make you any less. Besides, if you were some kind of violent monster you would [>$€*+ ] [+! ] [#%^*]”

Gokuhara’s face scrunches in confusion. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what [#%^*] is.” 

“For your sake, Gokuhara-kun, I hope it stays that way.” 

* * *

Shinguuji Korekiyo adjusts their mask. It’s a little uncomfortable, but they know they have to wear it to protect themselves. They’ll adjust to it, one day.

“Korekiyo~” her voice says from her hospital bed. “Otouto-san!”

“You know I don’t like to be referred to as your _brother_ , please,” they say, though they know it’s hopeless.

“Pffft, whatever,” She laughs. “Good thing I put up with you saying this stuff...mom and dad never will.” 

_I hate you_ , they think. 

“Otouto-san, don't look at your sister so cruelly!” She snaps. “God, you’re so weird. I bet [*^%=] [#%^*] would love you.”

They cock their head. If that’s an insult, it’s a new one. “Out of curiousity, what exactly is [#%^*]?”

* * *

Akamatsu Kaede walks through her front door, not giving any acknowledgement to her parents sat in the living room. 

In her room, she finally pays attention to the insistent buzzing of her cell phone that’s been going on for about ten minutes. 

Who is it now? One of her ‘friends’? One of the boys or girls with a crush on her that she’s been stringing along?

Should she reply? She needs to measure her attention out, too much or too little and they wouldn’t be as easy to manipulate. 

**[unknown number]**

**Akamatsu-san~! It’s me again!**

**I was thinking...have you heard of [#%^*]? I think...I think [€$+^] ended up with them. It’s...a lot to think about.**

**Love,**

**Hiromoto (from English class)**

She puts her phone away. She has no idea who that is or what they’re talking about. Whatever. She’ll keep them waiting.

* * *

Amami Rantarou is sitting on the sofa with the little sister he forgot he had, letting her attack him with makeup. She cycles through dream careers at least once a month and right now it’s to be a makeup artist. 

“Do I look beautiful?” He asks, reaching for the mirror.

“Of course, Ni-chan!” 

The makeup is a mess. The lipstick bleeds onto his chin and the eyeliner is way too heavy. 

“You did a great job!” He tells her. 

She giggles. “You know, if I [>%^*] [^#%*] [#%^*], then I think [>€+^] [£!:] [*+€^<] [€|$|++] [!$+^=]. I don’t think they’d take me though...they’d probably rather have someone like you.”

“Hey, are you talking in your own secret language again? I didn’t understand half those words.”

* * *

Shirogane Tsumugi is watching the participants of season 53 collapse on the floor and fall into a trance as the flashback light shows them something they’ve “forgotten”. It had taken a whole team to alter the flashback lights last minute. The flashback light machine in classroom C could only make them from the pre-programmed memory possibilities, none of which were usable now, so entirely new memories had to be created. She hadn’t even seen the new memories when they were finished as they ended up not being completed until the day the season premiered. But her new plot wasn’t too far a cry from the original, she just had to remove any references to super high school level talents. She knows the outline; the participants will believe they were being hunted. For the details she’ll roll with whatever the participants claim they saw. They’ll never suspect that the flashback light did nothing to her.

She can’t wait to see the look of despair on their faces when they come to. 

* * *

Saihara’s head hurts from where he hit it against the gym floor. The flashback light was strong, apparently enough so to make them all fall to the ground. The memory...it wasn’t even really like a memory; it had felt like he was living that moment all over again. Only…

“Is it just Tenko...or was that kind of gibberish?” Chabashira asks, now standing again.

Slowly, they all get up, loosely reforming the circle they were standing in before. 

“It appears that some words were cut out of my memory. I was having a conversation with someone and all seemed normal, but some words were indecipherable.” Shinguuji hums thoughtfully. 

“I think...the self in my memory understood them though. When the words I couldn’t hear properly were said, I responded, though now I don’t know what I was saying,” Harukawa adds. 

“So they’re giving us our memories back but still hiding things from us…” Akamatsu says, apparently unsurprised. 

Shirogane steps forward then. “Yeah, It was the same for me too. I wonder what I was talking about…” 

“Did we all get the same kinda memory?” Gokuhara asks. “Like, a conversation we couldn’t fully hear?” 

Everyone nods. 

“It felt important…” Amami trails off, looking dazed. 

“I agree,” Harukawa says. “Whatever it was, it worried me at the time. It made me feel...like something was...taking people away...and that I should be afraid. Now...thinking about that memory...I’m not sure what to think.” 

“Do you think...it has something to do with how we all ended up here?” Angie asks.

“Totally,” Shirogane says. “It sounds like we all experienced something pretty similar, and this killing game is the only thing we have in common.” 

“Hey, Monokuma!” Momota sounds even more pissed off than usual. “The fuck is the deal with hiding shit from us even within our memories?!” 

This time, the bear doesn’t show up. 

Saihara is still figuring out what to make of the memory. It seemed like a perfectly normal day, until he heard his coworker disappeared. He hadn’t been able to make out his coworker's name, even though he said it first, so obviously this was an issue with the memory rather than the event as it happened. 

And what was that last word...what did it have to do with his coworkers disappearance...and what did it have to do with his.

The problem is, most of them don’t want to give much detail on their memories; most of them— Akamatsu, Ouma, Momota, Harukawa, Amami, Shirogane, Shinguuji, Iruma, Angie, and Saihara himself— say nothing more than has already been said. Saihara gathers only two things from the ensuing conversation: they were all talking to someone who mentioned something they now couldn't hear, whatever that something was feels important now even if it didn’t then, and these memories don’t necessarily occur at the same time; Saihara knows his must have been when he was at least fifteen, considering he was at work, but Yumeno says she was as young as eight in hers. 

Whatever this is, how long has it been going on for?

As they run out of things to discuss, they all prepare to go their separate ways. Saihara wants to check out the new areas the others described, as well as the small building in the courtyard and the room behind the piano door that Monokuma had mentioned were also unlocked.

“Wait!” Yumeno says loudly, clearly talking to all of them. “I don’t think we should do this.” 

“What’s wrong, Yumeno-san?” Chabashira asks, taking a few steps towards her. 

“We shouldn’t just split up and go off on our own. What happened to Idabashi-kun and Hoshi-kun happened because they couldn’t get to know each other. We should _all_ spend time together, so no one else gets hurt.” 

“Pffft, well that’s stupid,” Akamatsu says. 

“It is not!” Yumeno insists. 

“It is. Friends can still hurt each other, Yumeno-san. Whatever we do, it won’t make a difference.” 

“Aww, don’t be such a downer, Akamatsu-chan.” Ouma is rocking on his heels. It’s the first thing Saihara has heard him say since the flashback light was turned on. 

“Please. The only reason you probably want us all together is because it would be easier for you to keep tabs on us.” 

“Akamatsu-chan.” Ouma gasps, clutching his hand to his chest. “Can I not want to spend time with my beloved classmates?”

“Still not a real school,” Chabashira mutters, before raising her voice and adding: “Yumeno-san is right. I mean, it can’t hurt.”

“Even though you’d have to spend time with Yucky boys?” Ouma teases. 

“Even then. I may hate guys, but I can’t very well avoid you completely when we’re locked up together.” 

“Are we forgetting that Akamatsu-san also attempted murder?” Iruma asks. “Why should we try and bond with that bitch when she’ll probably try and kill us again the second she gets the chance?” 

_Finally_ , Saihara thinks. If someone other than Ouma didn’t bring it up he was going to start thinking he was crazy. 

_You mean crazier than you already are?_

“That’s right.” Harukawa sighs. “I didn't want to bring it up earlier because I know most of us don't even want to think about what happened yesterday but…”

“I don’t think what Akamatsu-san did was okay,” Yumeno clarifies. “But...if we exclude her now, that’s only going to make it more likely that this happens again. I think...we should give her a chance.” 

A chance? She doesn’t _deserve_ a second chance. Akamatsu had made it clear that she’s empty inside, caring for none of them. Yumeno...Yumeno has too much hope.

“Akamatsu-san made a mistake,” Gokuhara says. “But...one mistake doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give her a chance.”

“No matter our individual feelings on Akamatsu-san’s actions yesterday, or what she decides to do from here on, is it not best to keep an eye on her?” Shinguuji asks. “If she is truly willing to commit murder again, then we should go with Yumeno-san’s plan so that she does not have the chance.”

Saihara has to admit that’s probably the most logical course of action. The only reason her murder attempt didn’t succeed was because Ouma had been keeping an eye on her while Saihara was blinded by trust.

But he doesn’t want that to mean that _he_ has to be around her. 

“What? So I’m a prisoner?!” Akamatsu huffs. 

“We are already prisoners,” Shinguuji says. “This is not much of a change.” 

“I already said it would be stupid of me to attempt anything any time soon.” 

“But what if you only said that to throw us off, Akamatsu-chan?” Ouma smiles wryly. 

“We’ll do it,” Saihara says, before he can change his mind. “Someone should be keeping an eye on her, you’re right.” 

“Awww, Saihara-kun.” Akamatsu flutters her eyelashes. “You wanna spend some more quality time with me?”

He hates her. He hates her he hates her he hates her he hates her he hates her he hates her he hates her

Stop. Don’t focus on it. Just get through this situation. Get out of this killing game. Then you’ll never have to see her again. 

“So we can do it?” Yumeno’s eyes glitter. “We can all hang out?” 

“Sure, Yumeno-san,” Chabashira says. “Where did you want to hang out?” 

“Hmmmm. Oh, I know! The pool is open, right? That should be fun!” 

“But we don’t have bathing suits,” Gokuhara points out.

“There might be some in the warehouse,” Shirogane tells them. “Or the pool has a supply closet, right? Either way, it seems unlikely there’d be a pool but no swimwear.”

“I’ll go look in the warehouse,” Harukawa offers. “Angie-san, would you like to come with me?” 

Angie nods. 

“In that case, me and Akamatsu-san will go ahead to the pool and look in the supply closet,” Shirogane decides. 

“You want to be alone with her?”

“I’ll go with them,” Amami offers. 

Those five leave the gym and the rest slowly start to follow. 

“Saihara-kun.” Momota swings an arm around him. “Come on, bro, let’s get some food before we head to the pool with the others. Men have got to keep their strength up.” 

Saihara slides away from the touch, bristling. Momota doesn’t seem to care, leading them back into the kitchen. 

“What do you want, Momota-kun?” He asks, dropping any pretenses. 

Momota doesn’t reply, instead piling food onto his plate. He gravitates towards protein-filled meats and vegetables— huh, Saihara didn’t figure he’d be such a healthy eater. 

“I want you to grab some food?” Momota says, gesturing to the stack of plates.

“That’s it?” Saihara quirks his eyebrow. “No ulterior motive?” 

“Well, I was also going to remind you we’re meeting in the courtyard tonight. Harukawa-san will be there again, too.” 

“I don’t know what this is about, but I’m busy.” 

“Mhm.” Momota hums, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge. “See you there.” 

Saihara shakes his head. This is pointless. He slinks away while Momota’s back is still turned to him.

...Only to run into Ouma blocking his path.

“Hi, Saihara-chan.” 

“Ouma-kun,” he greets. “I was just heading back to my dorm room.” 

“Hm?” Ouma cocks his head. “But Yumeno-chan said we’re all gonna go play by the pool.” 

“I’d...rather not.” 

“How come?” Ouma demands. “Are you scared of water, Saihara-chan? Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand!” 

“What? I don’t...look, I just want to be alone.” 

Ouma’s playful smile drops. “So you don’t want to prevent more murders from happening?”

What the fuck? Of course he doesn’t _want_ more people to die. ~~Is that really true?~~. He just doesn’t want to get dragged into some attempt at bonding with his ‘classmates’ only to end up hurt again.

He doesn’t know how to tell Ouma that without sounding pathetic, so he tries a different route.

“What about catching the mastermind? We know they used the hidden door around the time of Idabashi-kun’s death. We should investigate more to actually catch them in the act.” 

After all, it was his fault that they hadn’t caught them the first time. If he’d stayed in the A/V room then he would have seen them...he would have seen Hoshi enter the library...he would have been able to do something ~~would you have done anything? Or would you have just sat and watched?~~ about Idabashi’s death. 

“C’mon, Saihara-chan, I know you’re smarter than that. The mastermind knows we know now, so they’re not gonna be stupid enough to use that door again for a while.”

Damn. He was hoping Ouma wouldn’t catch that.

“I can’t swim,” he says. It’s a lie.

“Neither can Chabashira-chan, she’s still going.” 

“I don’t like taking my shirt off.” That’s the truth, even if it’s not why he doesn’t want to go. 

“No one’s gonna make you. If you’re not swimming then you can stay in your uniform.” 

“I have things to do,” he tries. 

“Like what?”

Saihara groans. This back and forth is starting to get annoying. 

“If I agree to go, will you stop annoying me?” 

“Sure thing, Saihara-chan!” Ouma grins, hands placed behind his head. 

“I’m not going to enjoy it,” he warns, just to be spiteful. 

“Not gonna force you to.”

“Let’s go then.” 

“We’ll wait for Momota-chan first! Seems mean to leave him on his own, doesn’t it?”

* * *

The time at the pool is...nice. Chabashira lets Yumeno get up on her shoulders and they play chicken fight against Gokuhara and Ouma. Momota says he’s going to show off how many laps he can swim only to stop after two and start splashing Toujou and Iruma who are sat on the edge dangling their feet in. The rest of them relax on the chairs— Shinguuji reads a book, Amami, Shirogane, and Akamatsu seem to be gossiping about something, and Harukawa and Angie are talking closely to one another. 

Saihara keeps to himself and watches. The others are having fun, and it looks nice...and fake. 

Who’s going to be the next one to kill? Who’s going to be the next one to betray someone who considered them a friend? 

They’re all just going to get hurt...like Idabashi, or Hoshi, or himself. Maybe someone here is already plotting the next murder. The motive is still there, no-doubt weighing on at least some people’s minds even if they aren’t showing it. So...who is going to die next? Who is going to kill next?

_Why don’t you do it?_

He’s startled by the thought as soon as he thinks it. He...no, he’s not capable of murder...is he? 

_How hard can it be?_

_If you don’t do it, someone else will._

_Maybe they’ll kill you._

_You’ll get killed as easily as you got manipulated._

_So why not do it first?_

Stop. He doesn’t want to think like this. 

_Think of the rush. You could make it so gruesome...so beautiful…_

_And no one can hurt you again if you hurt them first._

He can’t breathe. He can’t breathe in here. The sounds of everyone’s laughter and voices are too much for him. He just wants quiet. He wants them to be quiet. He wants his mind to be quiet. 

“I have to go!” He says as he stumbles to his feet and rushes out of the pool area.

_Go on._

_Just kill one of them._

~~_Isn’t that what you wanted?_ ~~

The dorm room is silent, but his mind is an orchestra.

* * *

When the thoughts finally dissipate, he’s exhausted. It’s night time already, the announcement having gone off a few moments ago, so it’s not surprising that he’s tired. 

He considers going straight to bed, but the embarrassing noise his stomach makes reminds him that he actually hasn’t eaten all day. The dining hall will be closed now, and that’s the only way into the kitchen as well. But If he remembers correctly, the school store carries some basic snacks.

He leaves the dormitories and wonders how he forgot the same thing two nights in a row. 

“Saihara-kun!” Momota jogs over to him. 

Right, Momota kept asking for Saihara to meet him in the courtyard after the night time announcement. 

Harukawa is there too, strolling behind Momota, and gives him a small smile. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” she says, “Momota-kun refused to start until you got here.” 

“Start what?” Saihara asks. 

“Training!” Another voice announces.

Ouma is walking towards them from the direction of the school. His hands are full of junk food, and trailing behind him are Chabashira and Yumeno. 

“Hey! What the fuck is this?” Momota yells over to them. 

Ouma reaches them and dumps the pile of snacks onto one of the tables. 

“Well, I thought we could do with snacks. Then I ran into Chabashira-chan, who loves exercise, and Yumeno-chan, who like myself is a connoisseur of fine snack foods, so I invited them along.” 

“You can’t just invite people to _my_ training. _You_ weren’t even invited.” 

Ouma shoots Momota a sharp look. “If I remember correctly, Momota-chan, when Harukawa-chan first asked you to work out with her you said ‘no way in hell am I training with a girl’, and _I_ had to intervene.”

“You asked me if I was scared about getting beat by a girl!” Momota says in what...Saihara _thinks_ is supposed to be a defence. 

“So...now you’re scared of getting beat by _three_ girls?” Ouma laughs. 

“Oh, one girl is more than enough to kick his ass,” Chabashira says, already rolling up her sleeves. 

“Whooo! Go, Chabashira-chan!” Ouma cheers. 

“Fucking...whatever.” Momota throws his hands up in defeat. “Invite as many girls as you want, I guess.”

“Good, because I invited Angie-san,” Harukawa says. “After last time left her without an alibi for the murder, I figured it would be better if she stuck by me, even if she’s not interested in stuff like this. The only reason I wanted to start training was to protect her anyway, so it seems rather foolish for me to let it put her in danger instead.” 

Momota rubs his temples like he’s exhausted. “Okay...Saihara-kun, did _you_ invite anyone and not tell me about it beforehand?” 

“Uhhh…” Saihara isn’t even sure he knows what’s going on. “No? I don’t even know why I’m here.”

“Well, look at you,” Momota says, like it should be obvious. “I figured it would be good for you to build up some strength. Mostly physical, but you need to learn to stand up for yourself too. Akamatsu-san really fucking destroyed you, man.” 

“You could...put it a little more delicately.” Harukawa sighs. 

“No, Momota-kun isn’t wrong,” Saihara says, shame bubbling inside him. “I...I’m weak.”

More than they know. He can’t even stand up for himself against his own thoughts. He had to spend hours just convincing his brain that he shouldn’t murder anyone. If that’s not weakness, he’s not sure what is. 

Ouma is looking at him curiously. Saihara gazes back. They hold eye contact for a minute, before Ouma grabs a granola bar and throws it to him with a grin. 

“You look hungry! Shouldn’t exercise on an empty stomach.” 

“Uhhh...thanks? Is that why you’ve eaten two packets of chips since you got here?” 

“Oh, no. I have no intention of exercising.” 

“Then why are you here?!” Momota asks. 

Ouma shrugs. “Just blessing you with my presence, Momota-chan.” 

“Tenko would appreciate it if you would all stop chit-chatting. She actually came here to work out.” 

“We’re still waiting on Angie-san,” Harukawa reminds her.

“Ah! S-sorry. Angie is here now,” Angie rushes out of the dormitory. “She’s sorry she’s late, she just…” 

“You don’t have to apologise,” Harukawa places a comforting hand on her back. 

“Right, then let’s get to work!” Momota’s voice booms. “We’ll start with—“

“Stretches,” Chabashira interrupts. “You shouldn’t do any exercise without stretches first.”

Led by Chabashira (much to Momota’s chagrin), they engage in a series of stretches— Saihara can touch his toes pretty easily, but he has to hide the fact that the jumping jacks and light jogging in place already leave him a little tired. 

By the time they start doing sit-ups, he finds himself feeling envious of Ouma, Yumeno, and Angie who are just sitting on one of the benches, watching the rest of them sweat.

Thankfully after that, Chabashira says they can take a five minute break. Saihara lets himself just lay on the ground and catch his breath. To his surprise, Harukawa comes and sits next to him, even though she doesn’t look too tired. 

“I brought water,” she says, handing him a bottle. 

“Oh, uh, thanks.” 

He takes a few swigs of the water and expects Harukawa to leave to talk to someone else. She stays put, and Saihara grows more uncomfortable by the second. 

“I’m sorry if this is forward,” she finally says. “But are you okay?” 

He blinks, taken aback, before schooling his features into a blank expression. “Why do you ask?” 

She sighs. “Look, I gather you’re not the kind of person who likes these conversations...but It’s okay to feel hurt by what Akamatsu-san did. But it doesn’t mean you should try to push everyone else away.” 

“What else am I supposed to do?” he whispers harshly. “Akamatsu-san just proved I can’t trust anybody, especially not here in this killing game.” 

“I don’t think it’s necessarily about trust,” she says, and it throws him off. “Of course it’s hard to trust people here...but it’s not all black and white, you know? You can still spend time with others without necessarily trusting them, and maybe when you get to know them then you’ll find them trustworthy after all.” 

Saihara...has never thought about it like that before. It sounded like a simple concept when Harukawa laid it out like that, but it was just...never how his mind had worked, he guesses.

He doesn’t know what to say to that. He needs some time to think about it. 

“Thank you, Harukawa-san.” It’s not much of a response, but she seems to understand what he means. 

“Right! Back to _my_ training regime now!” Momota claps his hands. “Everyone, a hundred push-ups, now!” 

Harukawa rolls her eyes, annoyed by Momota’s antics.

She shows Saihara the proper position for push-ups as Chabashira grumbles about taking orders from a guy. 

He only gets through about ten push-ups, but Harukawa tells him that’s not too bad for his first time really working out. Once Chabashira finishes the 100 and Harukawa gives up at about 50 (Momota says he can’t work out with them because he has to supervise) they all retire to their dorm rooms due to the fact it’s getting late. 

Saihara crawls into bed, even more tired than he was before but feeling...strangely better.

Getting to know people and learning to trust them in time...

He can try, he figures. He’s not exactly fond of black and white at the moment anyway. 

* * *

_??? theatre_

_Hm, It doesn't look like it’s been noticed yet. That’s good. The longer things like this fly under the radar, the better._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warnings for this chapter: purposeful misgendering (it's brief, in shinguuji's flashback light scene if u want to skip it), sexual harassment in Iruma's flashback light scene in the form of catcalling. The implied/referenced child abuse tag is relevant here, and the pre-game personality tag (which is really it's own warning, lets be real) is more relevant than ever.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this! I've somehow managed to actually get into an update schedule, so hopefully I can keep that up! kudos and comments are as always so so appreciated.


	9. chapter two: who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes - daily life (part three)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my proof-reading of this was done very sleep-deprived, and i'm not a very good proof-reader at the best of times, so sorry for the mistakes i'm sure are present

Breakfast goes much better than it had the previous day. For one, they actually eat. Saihara wouldn’t say that everyone is exactly over the deaths that occurred, but they have no choice but to just...go on...until they escape this ‘acadamy’.

He still feels uneasy being in the same room as Akamatsu, so he rushes through this breakfast and elects to explore the newly unlocked parts of the building that he hadn’t gotten around to yesterday. When he announces his plan Amami insists on coming with him. Momota offers too, but Amami says they’ll be fine just the two of them since everyone knows they're leaving the dining hall together. So here they are, outside the dining hall, Saihara feeling that familiar anxiety start to flare as he struggles to think of how to fill the uncomfortable silence. 

“I thought you’d appointed yourself as the one to keep an eye on Akamatsu-san,” is what he ends up saying, and jesus christ, what kind of opener is that?

Well, at least Amami doesn’t seem to find it nearly as uncomfortable as Saihara does.

“Gokuhara-kun offered to do it today. I think he relates to her, or whatever, for making mistakes in his past too. And Shirogane-san basically never leaves her side, so that’s two people. They don’t need a third.”

Saihara nods in acknowledgement. They’re approaching what he remembers is apparently Yumeno's room. Now that he’s broached the subject, there’s more he wants to ask Amami, but he’ll wait until they’re alone

Yumeno’s room has soft cream coloured-walls with little pink hearts dotted on them. Her bed is a single, but it looks cozy and cute with its strawberry pattern blankets. It’s a little cluttered, but a quick glance reveals nothing dangerous.

“Find anything interesting?” Amami asks.

“Not really,” he answers. He’d found the laptop. This one is covered in stickers of cute illustrations. When he turned it on it was the same as all the others, just like Yumeno had said. “How about you?” 

“Nothing. But...I didn’t actually come with you just to look around the school.” 

Saihara turns to face him. Amami’s expression is impassive— serious but hard to read other than that.

“Then why did you?” He asks flatly. 

“We’ll get to that. I have a question I wanna ask you, but I figure you have some for me too, so you can go first.” 

Saihara feels like he should sit down, but he isn’t comfortable with the idea of making himself at home in Yumeno’s bedroom without her permission, even if it’s not the real deal. 

“Why are you so friendly with Akamatsu-san?” He asks, deciding just to cut to the chase. 

Amami quirks an eyebrow. “Is this because she tried to kill someone, or because of what she did to you?” 

“Both. I’m not expecting you to take my side or something, but she said herself that all she does is use people. Aren’t you worried she’s just doing the same to you?”

“I can look after myself. I just...don’t think it would be right to isolate her, considering the situation we’re in. There’s so much pressure here. It makes people do certain things and act certain ways.” 

Saihara wants to refute his reasoning. The way Akamatsu had described why she’d done what she’d done made it clear she has always been this way, but It’s a fight he deems not worth it in the end. Some people need to be willing to spend time with Akamatsu to make sure she doesn’t try to kill anyone again anyway. If Amami is willing to be that person then so be it; if it blows up in his face later, it will be no one's fault but his own. 

“And the fact she tried to kill Idabashi-kun?” Saihara continues. 

“Like I said, it’s a strange situation we’re in. It just doesn’t surprise me that people would take the opportunity to kill, and I don’t think I can really blame them.”

Saihara wonders if it will make him a hypocrite to protest that when, as much as he hated it, some part of himself had considered killing as well.  _ Does  _ he even disagree with it? Hoshi killing Idabashi had been an accident, so he hadn’t really had to think about things like this 

“What did you want to ask me?” He plays it safe.

Amami takes a breath, and then: “I wanted to ask if you have my secret.” 

He had almost forgotten about the motive, if he’s being honest. He couldn’t work out what Ouma’s strange secret was supposed to mean, and he’s purposefully trying not to think about who has his own, whatever it may be.

“I thought the agreement was that we wouldn’t ask who had whose secrets?” 

“You don’t have to tell me whose you have. Just if it’s mine or not. If it’s not mine, then I don’t care whose it is. With both you and me out of the equation, that’s twelve people it could belong to. You wouldn’t be revealing anything.” 

Saihara supposes he’s right. Twelve people is a pretty big pool. How much could it really hurt to tell Amami that it’s not his?

But…

“Just to make sure, you’re not doing this so you can target the person who has your secret, right?” 

“No. I swear, I just want to know what it is. Even if it’s something awful, I won’t hurt anyone, I’ll just be grateful to know.” 

“It’s not yours.” Saihara shakes his head. “I have someone else’s. Sorry.” 

Amami accepts his answer easily. “Eh, it was worth a shot.”

“Why did you think it was me, anyway?” Saihara asks. “...Do you have my secret?” 

Despite what he’s told himself, the idea that his secret is in reach spikes his curiosity about it. If Amami says yes, he’s not sure he could control himself enough not to ask to see it.

“No. I don’t have your secret. I’m just asking around. I thought the same way at first, so the first person I asked was the person whose secret I have, but they said they didn’t have mine. You’re...the fourth person I’ve asked, I think?”

Saihara is relieved...and a little let down at the same time.

“Come on. Let’s go explore those other areas,” Amami says. 

The other bedrooms that were unlocked were Akamatsu’s, behind the piano door, and Iruma’s, in the small building near the shrine of judgement. Saihara doesn’t really want to venture into either of those, so he leaves it up to Amami. He says the laptops are there, and nothing else particularly interesting. 

At the casino, Ouma and Momota are playing some driving game against each other, though it seems they’re enjoying trash-talking more than the game itself. 

Shinguuji is sat alone at the slot machines, staring off into space. 

“Hey, you okay?” Amami asks them. 

“Hm?” Shinguuji turns their head, apparently only now realising the two of them are there. “Ah, yes. I was just thinking about Hoshi-kun. I believe he would have enjoyed this place.” 

Saihara doesn’t want to think about Hoshi and gambling in the same sentence, memories of the execution flashing in his mind— a blood-soaked screen and the crunch of bones. 

~~ So, so good.  ~~

He slips out of the casino to clear his mind and waits for Amami, even though they’re basically done. They’d made a mutual agreement to not even approach the Love Hotel. Saihara doesn’t understand why it’s here and isn’t sure he wants to. 

* * *

Once it’s approaching the afternoon, he expects Yumeno to request they all spend time together again. However, at lunch Chabashira informs them Yumeno’s illness is acting up today and she has to rest. 

“She said she wants to do something extra special tomorrow, to make up for today.” 

“Something special?” Harukawa repeats. “What did she have in mind?” 

“Ah...she wasn’t really sure. Tenko...may have told told her that Tenko will figure it out, but...Tenko has no idea what she’s doing.” 

“We could hang out by the pool again?” Gokuhara suggests. 

“But we’ve already done that,” She complains.

“Perhaps we could spend some time in the courtyard?” Shinguuji suggests. “It appears the weather here is always fairly pleasant.” 

“Hmmm…it still doesn’t seem like enough.” 

“Angie has an idea,” Angie says, surprisingly confident. “Where Angie is from, we would often have parties on the beach with lots of food to celebrate special occasions. Angie knows we do not have a beach here, but the courtyard could serve the same function.” 

“We can always drag some of the buffet food outside,” Momota says. 

“Ah, I think I saw a portable barbecue in the warehouse!” Gokuhara adds. “Would that be useful?” 

“There’s actually quite a lot of shit we could use in the warehouse,” Iruma says through a mouthful of food. “Like, decorations and stuff like that.”

“I can make food that isn’t available from the buffet. There are a lot of savoury options, but few sweets, so I could make those,” Harukawa offers.

“A picnic? I’m sure Yumeno-san would enjoy that.” Chabashira hums thoughtfully, a small smile appearing on her face.

“You really think it’s okay to have a picnic in a situation like this?” Akamatsu’s tone is layered with contempt. 

“Hey! There’s nothing wrong with making the most of this situation!” Momota defends. “Angie-san has the right idea.”

“Ah, thank you, Momota-kun.” Angie’s moment of confidence has clearly passed. She sounds even meeker than usual. “But...Angie does not wish to offend anyone or make anyone uncomfortable.” 

“It was a good idea, Angie-san,” Harukawa reassures. “Does anyone else object?”

“It’s incredibly boring here. If this event will be even slightly fun, then I’ll be there,” Toujou says. 

“I believe it is a good idea as well. We can use this opportunity to celebrate Idabashi-kun and Hoshi-kun’s lives and give them a proper send-off,” Shinguuji answers.

“I think it sounds like a great time!” Shirogane says. “Should we plan it for tomorrow, then? Maybe around dinnertime, so we aren’t too full to enjoy it?

“Sounds good. We’ll start setting up beforehand, then meet up in the courtyard,” Harukawa confirms. 

“Tenko hopes this goes well…” Chabashira bites at her thumbnail.

“I’m sure Yumeno-san will be very happy with it,” Harukawa tells her, causing Chabashira to blush and rush out of the room with the food she picked up to bring Yumeno.

* * *

Chabashira doesn’t come to training that night, presumably because she’s still with Yumeno, who isn’t here either. 

Saihara doesn’t know why Ouma doesn’t show up. He supposes they’d never actually made an agreement that they’d all be here everyday, and Ouma hadn’t even worked out last time. 

After ten push-ups he finds himself not worrying about who has or hasn’t shown, instead just trying to focus on making sure his arms hold him up. 

He manages another five before giving up. It’s an improvement on yesterday, at least. 

When Harukawa finishes, he’s the one who brings her a water bottle this time. 

“Thank you, Saihara-kun,” 

She shares her water with Angie, who had been sitting next to her as she worked out. On the other side of Angie, Momota is lying on his back. 

“Hey,” Momota says suddenly. His voice sounds oddly rough, like he’s out of breath. Weird, he hadn’t even done any push-ups. “What do you guys think of the motive?” 

“It’s stupid,” Harukawa states. “I wonder if it’s even true. How would Monokuma— or the mastermind, I suppose, whoever they are— know our deepest, darkest secrets?” 

“Hmm.” Momota presses his lips together. “Do you really think that’s true, Harukawa-san, or do you just want it to be?” 

“I just don’t understand how they could know these things. It’s all from before we arrived at this place, right?”

“Ah, do you know what your secret is, Harukawa-san?” Saihara speaks up for the first time since the conversation started. 

“I have an idea.” She nods. “The only secret I’ve seen is the one that was given to me, though.” 

“Oh yeah? Whose is that?” Momota pries.

“We agreed we wouldn’t talk about that.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Momota coughs slightly into his fist before getting to his feet. “We should turn in for the night.” 

Saihara says goodnight to Angie and Harukawa as they both head into Angie’s room before going to his own and getting into bed. 

* * *

_??? theatre  _

_ Secrets and lies kind of go hand-in-hand, y’know? But they’re also kind of opposites. You can replace a lie with a secret, or a secret with a lie, or the truth of a secret into a lie, or a lie of a secret into a truth. I mean, that’s what I was told anyway.  _

* * *

“This is an announcement, it is now eight a.m. Let’s all have a wonderful, productive day of mutual killing!”

Saihara gets ready for the day and leaves his room. In the main area of the dormitory he runs into Harukawa leaving Angie’s room.

“Good morning, Saihara-kun,” she greets. “Are you heading to the dining hall?” 

“Yeah, I was on my way there now.” 

“Angie-san is still asleep. I was hoping to run into someone so they could explain why we’re late. Is that okay?” 

“She can sleep through the Monokuma announcement?!” Saihara exclaims.

Harukawa lets out a fond laugh. “Impressive, I know. So, do you mind passing on the message?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

He grabs a couple of slices of toast from the kitchen before sitting down at the table. Everyone except Harukawa and Angie are already there, including Yumeno— she seems to be feeling better,slurping happily at her soup.

“So, what time are we going to start setting up for this picnic? Iruma asks. 

“Picnic?” Yumeno looks up with wide eyes.

Chabashira shoots Iruma a sour look. “That was supposed to be a surprise. 

“If it was supposed to be a surprise then you should have said it was supposed to be a surprise,” Iruma argues. 

“I hate it here,” Akamatsu complains, loudly and to no one in particular.

Chabashira explains the plan to Yumeno who lights up with joy. Harukawa and Angie arrive a few moments later. After a little more talking they agree to start setting up at noon. 

“We should split into teams again,” Harukawa says. “That was effective when investigating the school.”

“This is not an investigation. It’s a picnic,” Toujou observes sarcastically.

Ouma laughs. “You just don’t want to do any work, Toujou-chan.” 

“True.” She shrugs.

“I already said I’d make sweets. Does anyone want to volunteer to work with me?” Harukawa asks. 

“Angie will,” Angie says instantly. “Angie doesn't know much about making sweets, but she’ll do what she can to help.” 

“I’ll help too,” Gokuhara offers. “I don’t know that much either, but it sounds like a good thing to learn.”

“No offence, Gokuhara-kun, but wouldn’t it be better for you to bring things down from the warehouse? I don’t know what we need, but there’s probably some heavy lifting to be done,” Shirogane says. 

“I’d be happy to have Gokuhara-kun join me and Angie-san. I’m sure someone else can handle bringing down the equipment.” 

Gokuhara gives Harukawa a grateful smile.

“I can carry that stuff no problem!” Momota announces.

Chabashira snorts “Tenko will do it with even less problem.”

“I don’t think that’s a grammatically correct sentence,” Ouma comments. 

“I’m okay with lifting shit.” Iruma shrugs. 

“Me and Amami-chan will bring in food from the buffet!” Ouma announces cheerfully.

“We will?” Amami scratches the back of his neck. “Well, fine by me.” 

Ouma and Amami? Are those two close? Saihara can’t recall them ever really speaking before now. 

“You need one other person to help with that as well.”

“Are you saying me and Amami-chan aren’t capable, Harukawa-chan?” Ouma pouts. 

Maybe Saihara should volunteer too— 

“That’s not what I’m saying. But, for safety reasons—“ Harukawa starts, only to get interrupted.

“You say that, but you’re alone with Angie-chan all the time!” 

Harukawa tugs at one of her pigtails. “Whatever. If you’re so set on it, then It’s fine. It’s not like there won’t be other people around, anyway.” 

There isn’t much else that needs to be done, so they leave the groups as they are for now— other people can help with the set up if they want, or they can find another way to pass time before the picnic starts at six p.m.

Saihara decides to go back to his room for now. He grabs his notebook and writes what he can remember from the last few days. He avoids going over the events of Idabashi’s death, the trial, and the execution— he doesn’t think he’ll ever forget what happened there. Instead, he focuses on that mysterious flashback light, the new areas of the school, and the new motive. There’s not much he can deduce, even when he has it all written it out in front of him. If anything, the notebook seems more like a diary— just him recounting his days. Either way, it passes the time. 

It’s already afternoon by the time he finishes. With nothing else to do, he decides to go check up the people setting up for the picnic. 

It’s immediately clear they’ve made a lot of progress. Some collapsible tables that must have come from the warehouse have been set up together to make one long table. On it are various snack-style foods usually available at the buffet in the kitchen— small sandwiches, steamed buns, rice cakes, and similar things that must have been brought out by Ouma and Amami, though Saihara can’t see the two anywhere.

Iruma is fiddling with the portable barbecue. Set up next to it on a small table is a blowtorch lighter, a bottle of what looks like lighter-fluid, a few packets of meat that are defrosting, as well as wooden skewers, seasoning, and sauces. It looks like she knows that she’s doing, so he leaves her to it. 

Angie comes out of the school, holding a pile of tins of fruit in her arms. 

“Are you okay?” He asks.

“Ah, Angie is fine,” she replies, placing the tins on the snack table. “Harukawa-san said some of the deserts she’s making go well with fruit? But she wanted people to be able to choose between fresh and canned fruit, so she asked Angie and Gokuhara-kun to bring both out.

True to her word, Gokuhara exits the school and comes towards them with a plate of various fresh fruits. 

“Hello, Saihara-kun.” Gokuhara gives him a small wave. “Did you come to help set up?” 

“I guess. But it doesn’t seem like there’s much left to do. What are you doing out here, anyway? I thought it was Ouma-kun and Amami-kun’s job to bring the food out while you two made sweets with Harukawa-san?” 

“They...disappeared somewhere once they’d brought most of it out. Angie and I are just bringing out a few extra things for Harukawa-san’s sweets,” Gokuhara explains.

“Angie thinks they’re helping Momota-kun and Chabashira-san with getting decorations from the warehouse?”

“That makes sense.” Gokuhara nods. “Iruma-san was supposed to be helping with that, but she brought the barbecue down then got distracted.” 

“Hey!” Iruma snaps from where she’s standing. “I’m trying to make sure Monokuma didn’t rig it to explode in a huge flame of fire or something!” 

That’s...probably a good idea actually. 

“Did you find out?” Saihara asks. 

“Well, it looks normal as far as I can tell. But I guess there’s only one way to find out for sure!” With this, she pours some lighter fluid onto the charcoal before picking up the blowtorch lighter and setting the coals ablaze.

The fire roars for a moment and Saihara fears that Iruma’s theory may have been right, but it soon settles down into a manageable flame. 

“Okay, I guess It’s fine.” Iruma shrugs. “Fuck, now we gotta extuingish it until we actually need to use it. I’ll close the lid and cut the oxygen off. It takes 48 hours to cool down completely, so it won’t do much, but it should preserve the coals a bit at least. I don’t think there’s anymore in the warehouse, so we need these ones.” 

“Did somebody say warehouse?” A cheery, mildly annoying voice rings out from the school entrance.

Ouma is skipping his way down the stairs, followed by Amami, Momota, and Chabashira who are each carrying a plastic bag. 

“Did you dumbasses find decorations?”

“Well, kind of…” Amami trails off, placing his bag on the floor. 

The four people who just came back from the warehouse sit on the ground and start pulling out whatever they have in the bags. Saihara moves closer, intrigued by Amami’s statement. 

It doesn’t take long to see what Amami meant. The first thing he sees is a black banner reading “Happy killing game” then another which bares the words “Congratulations! It’s a handsome bear headmaster!” The paper plates have blood splatter designs, the cups have a decal of Monokuma’s eye, and the knives and forks all come in pairs of one black utensil and one white. 

“Where does Monocrisis even find time to make all this?” Ouma proudly holds up a ceiling decoration of a noose. 

“Hey, how come you never call him by his real name?” Momota asks. 

“‘He’?” Ouma blinks. “You’re aware it’s a robot, right?” 

"Yeah, but he's like...a male robot."

"I think you're getting too used to the bear, if you've started to view him as a 'he' and not an 'it'," Saihara says.

"You're doing it too!" Ouma accuses.

“There must be a way we can make these decorations work,” Chabashira interrupts. Saihara thinks she might just be fed up with the bickering.

“If we can find some paint it shouldn’t be too difficult,” Amami says.

“There was some in the warehouse, wasn’t there?” Momota asks. 

“Erghhh.” Ouma whines. “I don’t wanna go all the way back there.” 

“I’ll take care of it.” Amami is already getting to his feet. “Saihara-kun, make sure none of these three get in a fight before I’m back.”

That doesn’t sound like a job he’s prepared to take on. 

* * *

After Amami returns, Saihara somehow gets roped into painting the decorations with the four of them. It's not so bad, since all they really have to do is paint solid colours and some lettering. In the end, any trace of Monokuma or gruesome imagery has been erased and the banners show new messages. 

'Rest in peace, Idabashi Kiibo.'

'Rest in peace, Hoshi Ryoma.'

They hang them up on the outside wall of the ‘academy’ and leave the plates, cups and cutlery by the food. 

Everyone arrives in the courtyard in small groups. It isn’t long until they’re all gathered.

Iruma takes charge of barbecuing, and Gokuhara slides the meat onto skewers and lays them on the table. Everyone helps themselves to the food and sits around on the grass, talking amongst themselves.

Saihara grabs whatever looks interesting and puts it on his plate. He doesn’t really know where to sit, but that stops being a problem. 

“Excuse me.” Shinguuji clears their throat, talking so the whole group can hear. “I believe it would be a good idea to say a few words about our departed friends. If everyone can form a circle, then we may take turns.” 

So they do— fourteen high-schoolers sitting cross-legged in the grass, holding an impromptu funeral. 

“I will begin,” Shinguuji says. “I did not know Idabashi-kun very well, but he seemed to be a trusting and kind-hearted person under his socially-unaware behaviour. Hoshi-kun was someone I considered a friend— he was also hard to get to know, but he was a good listener, and cared for his friends the way it seemed he could not care for himself.”

They go around the circle, each person saying something, though it’s obvious some of them barely know anything about their dead ‘classmates’, they still manage to scrape something up. 

“I didn’t speak to either of them much,” Shirogane starts. “But...I think Idabashi-kun had a lot of potential to be a good classmate of ours. It’s a shame he’s gone so soon. As for Hoshi-kun, well, like I said, I didn’t know him very well. It seemed kind of like he was in despair before he even came to this academy, y’know? But I hope that he’s happy, wherever he is.”

Then it’s Akamatsu’s turn.

“Idabashi-kun was a trusting idiot. It’s a shame that Ouma-kun ruined my plan. Because of that, his death had no meaning. No one even got to escape. I know that’s not what you all want to hear...but it truly does upset me. If someone goes as far as to kill, then that just proves how much they need to leave this place...but Hoshi-kun just ended up dying too, and now we’re all still trapped and more people are going to die.”

“No one else is going to die,” Yumeno says firmly. “We can get out of here together!” 

“Fucking besides, are you forgetting that if Hoshi-kun got out, we  _ all  _ would have died, including you?” Iruma snaps. 

“Of course I haven’t forgotten. That’s why I was willing to work with you all in the trial, to prevent my own death. I don’t regret that Hoshi had to die...but it just means that both his and Idabashi-kun’s deaths were a waste. He should have planned better, fought harder. When the world is out to destroy you, all you can do is fight for yourself, even if it hurts others.” 

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” Amami sighs. 

He’s right. What was supposed to be a nice idea has now put everyone on edge. They give up on the plan, everyone turning silently back to their food. Saihara finishes what's on his plate and grabs the dessert Harukawa made, adding some fruit from the open cans.

“Hey, what is this?” Chabashira’s voice draws his attention.

She’s kneeling in the grass, staring at the ground. Curious, Saihara goes to investigate. When he gets closer, he realises that she’s not just staring at the ground but at a rock that he’s never noticed before. He has to squint to see it, considering that the sun is starting to set, but eventually he makes out some writing on the rock:

his 

e 

“...’his e?’” Saihara frowns. “What does that mean??”

“Well, If Tenko knew she wouldn’t be asking.” 

Almost everyone else has migrated over to them now, drawn either by Chabashira’s question or their curious behaviour. 

“Has that always been there?” Shirogane asks. “Or did one of you write it?” 

“This area used to be a lot more covered up. I don’t think we would have noticed if it was here before, but now the Exisals have cleared the space,” Saihara explains. 

“Well does anyone have any idea what it means?” Shirogane seems stressed. 

No one has an answer for that. Whatever this message is, it’s either some kind of code or simply...left incomplete. 

Some of them give up on the rock immediately, sitting down nearby. Others stare at it a little longer before giving up too and sitting down as well. Himself, Ouma, and Akamatsu are the only ones still crouched around it awkwardly, but even Saihara has to admit he has no idea what it means, and Ouma and Akamatsu don’t give any indication they’ve figured it out either.

“Hey. What do you miss most about the outside world?” Toujou asks everyone, staring up at the sky. 

“I miss being able to wear other clothes,” Shirogane replies. “I never liked my school uniform much. It’s too...plain.” 

“Same here,” Iruma says. “Wearing this all the time makes me feel kind of gross. I wasn’t kidding when I said I think Monokuma has a school uniform fetish.” 

“I just miss being able to take long walks.” Gokuhara sighs, despondently eyeing the cage that traps them. “I remember Hoshi-kun telling me he misses cigarettes.”

“I wonder what Idabashi-kun missed…” Yumeno thinks aloud. 

“Probably not much. It sounds like he just went from one prison to another,” Ouma says, voice resigned. 

“What do you miss, Ouma-kun?” She asks instead. 

“Not being imprisoned in a fake school and made to participate in a killing game,” he says lightly.

Maybe he shouldn’t, but Saihara can’t help but chuckle at that. Ouma looks over to him when he does, the slightest bit of shock visible in his eyes.

“Great, we’ve resorted to gallows humour,” Amami observes. 

“Kuhuhu.” Shinguuji chuckles. “We all have our coping mechanisms, I suppose.” 

They talk like that for a while, just asking questions or sharing stories. Nothing too heavy, nothing that delves too deep, but more than small talk. Saihara doesn’t say much, but it surprises him how comfortable he feels when he does have something to say. He’s not completely free from anxiety, but it’s reduced to a flicker in the back of his mind. 

“I guess we should head to bed,” Shirogane eventually says. “It’s not long until the nighttime announcement.

Whether she meant for it to or not, that statement reminds where they are and immediately pulls them out of the comfort they’ve slowly built. 

“Ah, shouldn’t we clean up first?” Angie questions.

She has a point. The courtyard is a mess— the table is still set up, now covered in half-eaten food. Paper plates and cups litter the ground. The barbecue is still there as well, though they’ve begun the process of extinguishing it— possibly for good, since Gokuhara had accidently stepped on the lighter running back and forth between the grill and the other ‘students’. 

“Leave it ‘til tomorrow.” Iruma waves the idea off. “It’s not like there’s anyone here but us.” 

Most everyone seems to agree with that, a few people already heading off to the dorms. 

“Momota-kun,” Saihara says, turning to the other boy. It isn’t until now he realises that Momota has been strangely quiet since the picnic began. “Are we training again tonight?”!

Momota stares at him for a moment, before blinking back to himself. “Ah, I don’t really feel up to it tonight. You guys go on without me, if you want.” 

Momota doesn’t  _ look  _ up to it. There’s a palid tone to his skin, and his eyes are glassy. Just as Saihara is thinking this, Momota breaks into a coughing fit. It’s...aggressive, to say the least. 

Saihara doesn’t miss the flash of red on his palm as the coughing finally subsides. 

“If everyone is okay with it, I am still up for training tonight. Get some rest, Momota-kun,” Harukawa says.

He gives her a nod. “Just let me grab some water from the kitchen before it closes, then I will,” he replies, and slowly heads in the direction of the school. 

“I think I’m gonna sleep too,” Yumeno says. “Today was really fun, but now I’m kinda tired.” 

“Tenko will stay with you, Yumeno-san!” Chabashira offers. 

“No.” Yumeno shakes her head. Chabashira looks crestfallen for a moment, so Yumeno quickly continues, fighting past the current sleepy drawl in her voice. “It’s not that I don’t  _ want  _ you to stay with me. I would love that! But I know you really like all this exercise stuff. You were so passionate when you were training, more than I’ve ever seen you! So...I want you to do what you enjoy.” 

Chabashira looks unsure, but eventually relents to Yumeno’s idea. “Okay, Yumeno-san.”

“But...you can still walk me back to my dorm room,” Yumeno adds. 

“S-sure!” Chabashira gets up. “Uh...Tenko will be back in a moment,” she quickly addresses the rest of them before walking off. 

The only people left in the courtyard for now are himself, Harukawa, Angie, and Ouma.

“Are the rest of you quite alright with staying?” Harukawa asks. 

Saihara nods, as do the other two. 

After a few minutes, Chabashira comes back and quickly takes charge, though she seems quieter and more unsure than she did last night. Either way, Harukawa and himself start on their stretches while Ouma and Angie sit at the sidelines.

They train for about fifteen minutes before the nighttime announcement rings out and Chabashira calls for a break. Unlike Momota, she actually does the exercises with them, but even so the break is more likely for his sake than her own or even Harukawa’s. 

Saihara is still catching his breath when, with no warning, Ouma moves closer to Chabashira, bordering on invading her personal space.

“You seem down, Chabashira-chan,” he says. 

“That’s none of your business,” Chabashira replies sourly, pulling out clumps of grass. 

“But doesn’t Yumeno-chan want us all to get closer?” Ouma’s eyes are wide with faux-innocence. “What could make us closer than sharing our troubles!” 

Saihara shakes his head from where he’s laying on the grass catching his breath. That’s an underhanded move, and Ouma knows it.

“That doesn’t mean Tenko has to tell  _ you  _ about them.” 

“Well, what about Saihara-chan?” Ouma asks loudly. “Because he’s  _ totally  _ eavesdropping on us right now. 

Saihara pushes himself into a sitting position.

“I was not eavesdropping. It’s not my fault I’m literally right next to you.” He grimaces. 

“Ouma-kun,” Harukawa chides. “Be nice. Chabashira-san, you don’t have to tell us anything you’re not comfortable with.” 

“Well...Tenko supposes she does want to talk to someone about it...” Chabashira says reluctantly.

“Yeah, Chabashira-chan! Tell us!” Ouma urges.

“Tenko….Tenko doesn’t know,” She mumbles. “She’s...scared.” 

“A-Angie is scared a lot too. But...she thinks talking about it helps.” Angie says.

“What are you scared of?” Saihara asks Chabashira. “Is this about the killing game?” 

“No.” She shakes her head. “It probably actually sounds pretty dumb considering the killing game is going on, but it’s about...Tenko's feelings…”

Okay. Talking about feelings and comforting people really isn’t Saihara’s thing. It’s not that he doesn’t want to do it, necessarily, he’s just  _ bad  _ at it. It’s something he has no experience with. God, he can barely understand his own emotions.

“Awww, Chabashira-chan, do you have a cruuuuush?” Ouma teases. 

“Sh-Shut up.” Chabashira grumbles.

A crush? Hmmm...there’s only one person it seems likely Chabashira has a crush on…

“You have a crush on Yumeno-san, don’t you?” Saihara asks.

Chabashira very aggressively throws a handful of grass at him. 

“Ah, sorry.” He cringes. He probably shouldn’t try to solve his ‘classmate’s’ crushes like they’re some kind of mystery.

“No, it’s fine.” Chabashira shakes her head. “But...is it really okay for me to feel this way?” 

“Well, a killing game  _ is _ a weird place to fall for someone,” Ouma says, but it’s teasing and non-judgemental.

“No, it’s not that. Well, yes. But what Tenko means is—“ Chabashira trails off, frustrated. “Is it really okay for her to feel this way for a girl?” 

Ouma blinks. “I’m gay, Chabashira-chan. I’m not sure what you expect me to say.” 

Saihara can actually understand where Chabashira is coming from. When he first started to realise he likes boys as well as girls, it had been kind of hard to accept. He never knew what other people would think, and that scared him. Even once he’d accepted it about himself, he’d never told anyone, not that he would have had anyone to tell even if he wanted to. 

Harukawa’s advice echoes in his mind: Even if you don’t trust them fully, you don’t have to push them away. Chabashira is sharing something personal...Is telling her he relates a good way to handle this? Or will it just make it seem like he’s making the conversation about himself? He doesn’t know. He doesn’t want to say the wrong thing. But….maybe he wants to finally let this out. 

“I...like boys too.” He tenses, preparing to be yelled at or something, but nothing happens. The world keeps turning, the stars keep twinkling, and Saihara thinks, just for a moment, maybe his fears aren’t as big a deal as he’s always thought they were. 

"I think most people here aren’t that straight,” Harukawa adds.

“Tenko knows that!” Chabashira is now tearing the blades of grass smaller and smaller. “And...she don’t think it’s wrong for anyone else, but she was always told it was wrong for her.”

“Who told you that? Harukawa asks gently.

“Tenko was never very good at making friends. She was scared to talk to girls and she didn’t like boys. But...there was one boy who actually made the effort to be friends with her. He was nice, at first. But when Tenko tried to talk to him about how she felt about girls, he would get mad, so Tenko just stopped talking about it. We were kids, then, so Tenko didn’t really understand what her feelings meant.”

Chabashira is starting to get a little emotional, and even Ouma doesn’t push her and waits for her to continue at her own pace.

“She was...twelve? probably? when she actually started to understand what it meant, and she hoped her friend would feel differently now he was older too. But when she tried to say it, he was even more mad than he used to be. He yelled at Tenko, then pushed her onto the ground before saying he didn’t want to be friends with someone like her. This is the first time Tenko has even mentioned these feelings out loud since then. She thinks it’s probably her secret, actually.” 

“It is?” Saihara asks, surprised. “But you said yesterday you weren’t ready to share it. Why now?” 

“Because—“ There’s a pleasant smile on her lips, as if she’s in a dream. “Tenko  _ really  _ likes Yumeno-san. And it is scary, but...in this situation, there’s so much to be afraid of. If we’re all about to die, then Tenko doesn’t want to die hiding how she feels.” 

Harukawa gives her a soft smile. Her eyes flicker over to Angie for a moment, but she’s quick to return her attention to Chabashira. “That’s a good way to think. And don’t forget, just because you had a bad friend in the past, doesn’t mean your other friends are going to be the same. We’re your friends, and we support you.” 

Friends? Is that what they are? Saihara wouldn’t know. He’s never had a friend, not even a bad one like Chabashira. Can you really make friends in a situation like this? But...he supposes they kind of are. They talk, and spend time together, and now they’ve even started sharing their struggles and their dreams and things that are personal. Is that what friendship is? He’s pretty sure trust is a core aspect of friendship too but...Harukawa had told him that comes with time. He supposes...even if he can’t fully trust them, they can still be friends. 

“Yeah, we’re your besties, Chabashira-chan! You can count on us!” Ouma says, with over-exaggerated enthusiasm. Saihara thinks his eyes might even be sparkling. 

Chabashira throws yet more grass at him before turning back to Harukawa. “Do I really have to be friends with them too?” 

“Hey!” Ouma complains. “Whatever happened to wlw and mlm solidarity?” 

“...I suppose you aren’t too bad.” A smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

They work out for a bit longer before deciding that’s enough for the night. Saihara makes his way to bed, peacefully tired, and for the first time that he can remember falls asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow. 

* * *

_??? theatre _

_ It’s been three full days since the last murder. This tentative peace can’t last much longer. That’s just how it works. _

* * *

Saihara is surprised when he realises he’s woken up before the morning announcement. Then again, his quality of sleep had been a vast improvement on what it usually is. He decides to just go through his normal routine; he gets ready for the day and begins the walk to the dining hall, even though it won’t be open yet. Considering that, he takes the route through the school rather than the one directly from the courtyard, just to take up more time. 

When he arrives at the dining hall door he’s not the only one there. Shinguuji is there, along with Amami. 

“Good morning, Saihara-kun,” Shinguuji greets. “I do not believe I have seen you up this early before.” 

“Are you normally awake at this time?” He asks. 

“Yes. I prefer to have some time to myself in the mornings. Not that I don’t enjoy the company here. It just helps me mentally prepare for the day.” 

“And I guess I’m just an early riser.” Amami shrugs. “Don’t think I’ve been asleep when the announcement sounded since I got here.” 

Saihara laughs awkwardly “I could never be that organised. I’m usually more of a night owl, but there’s not much point to that here.” 

The morning announcement finally goes off and Amami pushes open the door, only to freeze in his tracks. Concerned, Saihara peers over his shoulder. 

And sees the dead body of Momota Kaito lying on the floor. 

_ Ding Dong, Bing Bong.  _

_ “ _ A body has been discovered! All students please gather in the dining hall.” 


	10. chapter two: who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes - deadly life (investigation)

That feeling starts again. That beautiful, heady, ~~oh so despairful~~ feeling. Thankfully, it’s easier to tamper down this time. The sound of footsteps rushing in behind him is enough to knock him out of it and into the real world. The world where someone is dead in front of him, and it's the tradgedy it's supposed to be.

He wonders why it’s easier. Is it because he’s getting used to the sight of death? Or maybe because he knew Momota better than he’d known Idabashi or Hoshi? Sure, he still doesn’t know if he exactly liked the guy, but they’d spent time together, especially lately. He’d tried to help Saihara, in his own way. 

Monokuma enters the room with a grin, apparently in glee to find another murder has occurred. “Finally! All that friendship crap you guys were trying to pull was getting seriously irritating. At least somebody remembered how this game works!” 

“Just give us the file and get lost.” Akamatsu huffs, holding her hand out towards the bear.

“You can’t boss your headmaster around! Do you even know what headmaster means? It means I’m in charge!” Monokuma grumbles, but he hands out the file anyway.

Monokuma file number two. There’s going to be another class trial. Another death. Or all their deaths. How will this one end?

Saihara turns his attention to the screen.

**The victim is Momota Kaito.**

**The cause of death is a laceration of the throat, severing both carotid arteries. Several other external and internal injuries are present, though these appear to be at least a week old.**

Saihara frowns at the screen. There’s something missing…

“So, you noticed,” Ouma says from beside him. Saihara hadn’t even heard him approaching. There’s no trace of mirth or playfulness in Ouma’s voice. He’s just...flat, serious. 

“Noticed?” He parrots. 

“Well, duh, Saihara-chan!” Ah, there it is. “The time of death isn’t listed.”

So that’s what it is. 

“It was definitely there for Idabashi-kun’s file,” Saihara remembers. “So...why not this one?” 

The crowd around them has dispersed a little, but the trio of Akamatsu, Shirogane, and Amami are still nearby, and apparently listening in given Akamatsu’s interjection.

“Because the mastermind doesn’t want us to know. So they’re hiding things from us, again.”

Saihara really wishes she’d just stop speaking to him. Everytime she does, he reaches for the hat he no longer wears, desperate to hide his face even if her taunts are what made him take it off in the first place. 

“And why would they do that?” Ouma asks, though it’s clear he already had some idea of the answer.

Saihara thinks for a moment. “Because...It’s an important part of the case?”

“Exactly!”

“But how? The murder can only have happened sometime last night. I was here before the dining hall opened, so it wasn’t in the morning. We saw Momota at roughly 09:45pm before he told us he was going to the kitchen. Since the dining hall, and by extension the kitchen, close at 10:00pm, that only leaves a fifteen minute window. Would it really be that big of a deal for Monokuma and the mastermind to narrow it down just that tiny bit more?” Saihara lets out in a jumble. 

“If we know all that,” Shirogane says. “Then I bet it’s not because the time is important, but rather that we already know so they thought it would be pointless to include it.” 

“That’s a possibility as well. I mean, we have no idea how the mastermind thinks. This explanation makes more sense to me than the time being important.” 

“Maybe.” Ouma shrugs. “Now, lets go investigate, Saihara-chan.”

“Like...together?” He splutters.

“Well, yeah. We have to stay in groups of at least two, after all.”

That's true. Last time, he investigated with Akamatsu. If Ouma wants to investigate with him in her place, he doesn’t really see a reason to refuse. 

“We need to look at the body,” Ouma says, matter-of-fact.

“Uh...can we check the surrounding area first?” Saihara asks. 

He’s hoping Ouma won’t ask _why_. He supposes if he does, Saihara can say he’s just not ready to see the body yet. It’s not a lie, it’s just...not for the reasons Ouma would presume. 

Ouma blinks, gears visibly turning for a moment, before breaking out into a smile. “Sure! Whatever you want.” 

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to look at around the dining hall and they quickly move on. At least Ouma doesn’t complain when Saihara makes a beeline for the kitchen. 

The buffet has been refreshed since last night, now full again. Who sets this up anyway? Monokuma doesn’t look like it would be capable of such a task, but at the same time it’s odd to think that the same mastermind that wants them to kill each other would stay up at night putting out food for them. 

“Saihara-chan, there’s a knife missing.” 

Saihara looks to where Ouma is peering at the wooden knifeblock, and indeed, out of the five slots there’s only four knives— one left conspicuously empty. 

“Maybe Harukawa-san moved it when she was in here yesterday?” He suggests. 

“It’s possible.” Ouma nods. “But it looks like she cleaned up after herself. There’s nothing else out of place here.” 

“A missing knife,” Saihara repeats, mostly just to cement the potential evidence in his mind. “Well, we’ll keep an eye out for it.”

“Does that mean it’s time?” Ouma asks. 

“...Yeah. Let’s go look at the body.” 

Each step Saihara takes is filled with trepidation. He imagines this is what it’s like to walk the plank on a ship into the ocean, or the steps of the gallows used to hang a criminal. If this is how it feels to walk towards your execution, then maybe Monokuma should just execute him and get it over with, so afterwards he’ll never have to feel this way again. 

They reach the body, and the fear vanishes as that other feeling surges. Still, he manages to keep it in check as he bends down next to the corpse.

Momota is lying on his side, towards the back of the dining hall, halfway between the table and the courtyard entrance. Strangely, there’s nowhere near as much blood at the scene as there was after Idabashi’s death. Red taints his neck and dyes his shirts the colour of death, but the floor is completely clean.

There are two cuts on his neck, both incredibly thin, but obviously deep enough to cause damage. 

While Saihara is examining the wound, Ouma is...lifting up Momota’s torso.

“What are you doing?” Saihara whispers.

Ouma looks at him, something strange flickering in his eyes, before he smirks. 

“Found the knife, Saihara-chan.” 

In the hand that was just supporting Momota’s upper body, Ouma is indeed holding a knife. It certainly looks like it came from the kitchen, considering it’s the same style. It’s not particularly big, which is to say it looks like any other kitchen knife in the world. Sharp and enticing. At least there’s no blood on it. He doesn’t think he’d be able to handle that.

Ouma rifles through Momota’s pockets. He pulls out a tissue, covered in a dry mix of red and...a kind of greenish colour? 

“Was this used to try and clean up the blood?” Ouma asks. 

“Maybe,” Saihara says, deep in thought. “Did you notice anything else?”

Ouma shrugs. “Well, there’s a snag in the bottom of Momota-chan’s blazer. See?” 

Ouma shows him what he’s talking about. There’s a small rip on the bottom of the blazer. Considering Momota’s general grooming habits, it probably isn’t important, but he keeps it in mind anyway. 

“Is that it for the body?” Saihara asks, hopeful.

“I think so.” Ouma pulls Momota’s shirts and jacket back down. 

“There wasn’t much evidence.” 

Nothing here points them in the direction of a culprit, nor does it tell them much more than the Monokuma file already had.

“Hmmm...not here. But don’t worry Saihara-chan! I’m sure there’s other places we can check. 

“Other places?” He can’t help but ask. 

“Yeah! Where do you wanna go first?” 

Saihara doesn’t really know what to say. He’s not sure what Ouma is alluding to. He doesn’t admit that though, instead he says he wants to talk to Harukawa first. He does need to do it, and it will give him more time to think. 

“Hiiiii, Harukawa-chan.” Ouma skips up to her as Saihara takes his time and walks. 

“Ouma-kun, Saihara-kun.” She nods to them. “Are you here to ask after my alibi? Well, I would love to help, but I don’t know when the crime occurred.”

Angie seems to be holding up a bit better than the last body discovery. She’s standing closer to Harukawa than strictly necessary, and she isn’t looking at the body, but she doesn’t appear to be having a panic attack. It's progress, Saihara guesses. He can't exactly talk when he's unable to overcome his own feelings around the dead either.

“No, that’s not it,” Saihara tells her. “There was a knife missing from the kitchen, and it was found under...Momota-kun’s body. I was just wondering if the knife was missing when you were in the kitchen yesterday?” 

“Hmmm." she purses her lips thoughtfully. “Oh, I don’t believe it was. I feel like I put all five back after I used them.” 

“Angie believes they were all there too, though she probably wasn’t paying as much attention as Harukawa-san,” Angie adds. 

“Okay, thanks. That’s all we needed to ask for now.”

So, where do they go from here? Saihara still hasn’t figured out where else to investigate. Probably somewhere related to Momota, right? It’s a safe bet. He just hopes he's right. He can't make a fool of himself, he just can't.

“Let’s go to Momota-kun’s dorm room,” he says, trying to sound more confident than he is.

“Great idea! Let’s take this door!” With that, Ouma ushers him back past the body and to the door that leads straight to the courtyard.

Once they’re outside, Saihara realises why— on the patio outside the door, the first thing he notices is a few liquid specks on the floor— dark red and painfully familiar.

“Is this what I think it is?” he asks, crouching to take a closer look. Feeling the floor, he notices that the wooden panelling is damp.

“Well, it’s probably not ketchup.”

“You knew this was here, didn’t you?” 

“I may have tried to take this route to the dining hall, then went through the school instead.” Ouma shrugs nonchalantly.

“Is that all?” 

“I already told you, Saihara-chan. I don’t like lying about things like this.”

Continuing his closer look, Saihara notices something else too. A few of the nails in the boards are poking out, and on one of them there’s some fibres of dark fabric.

“Are you rifling through the garbage?” A judgemental voice asks. He looks up, surprised, only to see that Shirogane was the one who’d just spoken. She must have come outside via the school doors, Akamatsu and Amami in tow. 

Also, Ouma is literally rifling through the garbage can. 

The courtyard is still a mess after the picnic last night. They were meant to clean up this morning, but, well, clearly something else has come up. 

“What, have you never had to dumpster dive before, Shirogane-chan? You haven’t lived!” Ouma responds cheerily. 

“Why don’t you just tip it out, instead?” Amami directs at Ouma. 

“Well….Uh….” Ouma frets. “I just didn’t want to make more of a mess! But if you insist, Amami-chan!”

"You didn't think of it, did you?"

"I plead the fifth. Now...can you give me a hand here?" 

With Amami’s help, Ouma tips the garbage can out. There’s not much in there, considering they hadn’t cleaned up yet and generally didn’t have anything to throw in the bin out here compared to more convenient bins in the dining hall proper and their rooms, but there is a small collection of things. A very random collection, actually— a single empty water bottle, four dark and small pieces of solid plastic— rounded on one side and flat on the other— and the lid of a can of tinned fruit. The lid doesn’t have a ring pull, so it must be the kind of tin you open with a can opener. 

Amami picks up the lid, only to let out a sudden 'ouch' and drop it back on the ground. Blood is blooming on the pad of one his fingers, already starting to drip down towards his hand. 

“Why did you pick it up?” Akamatsu scowls. “It was in the garbage!” at the same time Shirogane says “Hang on, I think I have some tissues.” 

“It was damp,” Amami explains. “Nothing else from the garbage was, so I thought it warranted a closer look.” 

“Huh. It seems like this area may be relevant after all,” Akamatsu says. “In that case, I’m gonna look around. I won’t complain if any of you do too.”

“Good call,” Amami says. 

They split up to search the area. Saihara is careful not to mess with the scene too much, so he doesn’t pick up any of the trash like the day old food or broken lighter. He realises that the hose attached to the wall is lying on the ground rather than coiled up in the holder. Did they leave it like that? He’s not really sure. He doesn’t recall them ever using it, but the Exisals sometimes do when they’re working out in the courtyard. They don’t tend to leave a mess, though. 

He’s inspecting the ground by the rock they’d discovered last night when Akamatsu announces she’s found something, which causes them all to go investigate what she’s discovered for themselves.

She’s examining the barbecue from last night. It’s fully extinguished now, most of the coal turned to ash. It takes a moment to spot it, but there’s something else hiding in amongst the cinders.

“Yoink!” Ouma plucks the item from inside the barbecue.

It’s a scrap of cream coloured paper. The top left corner of a larger page, judging by the shape. The rest of the paper is nowhere to be found. On the scrap they have, a letter is written— “A”. 

“...I think I was right when I said we need to go to Momota-kun’s room,” Saihara says. 

“Allow me to accompany you.” That’s Toujou’s voice, and he looks up to see her stepping out of the dining hall. 

“Oh, you wanna help, Toujou-san?” Akamatsu smiles that saccharine smile. “That’s a first.” 

Toujou bristles. “I hardly see a problem with me wanting to investigate. It’s what we have to do to survive, isn’t it?” 

Akamatsu blinks innocently. “I never said it was a problem. I was just curious as to why you were suddenly interested…” 

It’s obvious what she’s implying. Saihara ignores her...though, Toujou's willingness to help _is_ very sudden.

“If you want to come, then you’re free to, Toujou-san,” he tells her, shooting a spiteful look in Akamatsu's general direction as he does so.

“Yeah! The more, the merrier!” Ouma agrees, voice dripping with exaggerated enthusiasm.

So the three of them head towards the dormitories. Momota’s room is on the second level of the building, so they climb the stairs...and then they run into a problem. 

“It’s locked.” Toujou sighs. 

“But why?” Saihara complains. “The keys weren’t anywhere on Momota-kun’s body, so I presumed he hadn’t locked it.” 

“He hadn’t!” Monokuma laughs, suddenly by their side. “However, it seems rude to just let you all rifle through a dead man’s things, doesn't it?”

“So you locked it?” Saihara checks. 

“Sure did.”

“So we’re not allowed in?” Toujou asks.

“Well, if you _did_ find a way in I wouldn’t stop you. It’s not against the rules to open doors, or to enter your dead classmates rooms.”

That’s...confusing. But Monokuma doesn’t wait around for them to ask more questions.

“Ouma-kun,” Saihara says. “Can you pick this lock?”

He laughs, bringing his lockpicks out. “Pfft, of course I can. What do you take me for, an amateur?”

Saihara watches as Ouma picks the lock. He can’t tell exactly how it’s being done just from watching, but clearly Ouma knows what he’s doing, as after a minute or so there’s a faint ‘click’ and the door is pushed open. 

Momota’s room is the same as all the other dorm rooms here. Well, it’s a bit messier than Saihara’s own, but that’s about it. 

Is it bad to look around his dead...classmate’s? friend’s? Whatever Momota was to him’s...dorm room? Well, maybe, but it can hardly be more unacceptable than searching his dead body, no matter where Monokuma’s weird priorities lie.

“Do you know what we’re looking for?” He asks Toujou and Ouma. 

They both nod. 

“Then let’s go.” 

Saihara starts at the bedside table, considering it’s where he keeps his own. He goes through all the drawers, but they’re basically empty. Well, there’s a cheap memo pad on top, and a pencil in one of the drawers, but that’s not what he’s looking for. 

“Did you find anything?” He asks. 

Toujou is searching through the closet while Ouma checks various nooks and crannies. This time, they both shake their heads. 

“Is that a memo pad?” Toujou asks, pausing. 

“Uh, yeah?”

Both her and Ouma move closer. 

“The top sheet is ripped off,” Ouma points out. 

Oh yeah. Saihara had barely glanced at the memo pad since it wasn’t what he was looking for, but there’s indeed some paper left at the top, the remnants of a sheet that has clearly been removed. 

“Saihara-kun, would you mind handing me that pencil?” Toujou asks. 

He does as she asks and she kneels at the bedside table and starts running the pencil over the lined white paper of the second sheet. 

“What are you doing?” He asks. 

“If Momota-kun wrote something on the top sheet before ripping it off, then there might be indentations on the second sheet. They’ll show up if you lightly cover the sheet in pencil.” 

That sounds correct...and familiar. 

“How do you know that?”

Toujou blinks, her hand falling still for a moment before she resumes her work. “I...think I saw it somewhere? Probably one of my parents' films, I guess.” 

Well, wherever she learned it, it’s a good thing she did. Slowly, a message appears on the paper. 

‘I have your secret. Meet me outside the dining hall to talk. I’ll be there at three a.m. If you don’t show up, I’ll tell everyone what it is.”

Saihara reads it again, just to make sure he’s got it right. But there’s no mistaking the meaning— the writer of this note was asking for the recipient to meet them, and threatening them if they don't, due to the motive Monokuma had given them all. 

“Who do you think this note was intended for?” Toujou asks. 

“It’s not addressed to anyone specific. The only thing we can say for sure is that it was for the person the writer had the secret of.” Saihara frowns at the note, as if hoping a clue to the intended recipient will appear by magic.

“Well, presuming Momota-chan wrote it, we can’t find the secret anywhere in this room,” Ouma adds. 

“So we’re clueless.” Toujou moves into a sitting position, leaning her back on the bedside table “Well, I guess there’s nothing to do now but wait for Monokuma to call the trial.”

“Don’t you want to look for more evidence?” Saihara asks hesitantly.

“I found what I needed to,” she says. Saihara kind of expects her to continue. She doesn’t.

“I think we’ve exhausted all possible places to explore, anyway. Unless there’s somewhere else, Ouma-kun?” 

Ouma makes an “I don’t know” sound. “Well, unless we break into everyone’s rooms to try and find who has that note!” 

“That’s an invasion of privacy!” Toujou chides. 

“Drat!” Ouma kicks the air. “If you say so, mom.” 

She curls her lip in distaste. “I’m not your mom. I’d be a terrible mother.” 

“I couldn’t agree more! If anyone’s filling the mom friend role around here, it’s Harukawa-chan.” 

“Speaking of...shouldn’t we go back to the dining hall after all? We may have found all the physical evidence, but we haven’t asked about alibis,” Saihara reminds him.

“Alibis?” Toujou quirks a brow. “I didn’t see the time of death in the Monokuma file.” 

“It wasn’t there. But, considering where the crime occurred, and circumstances from this morning, and when Momota-kun was last seen, It can be narrowed down to between 09:45pm and 10:00pm.” 

“Huh. Well, whatever. After Shirogane-san mentioned we should head off to bed, I went back to the dorms. However, me and Iruma-san sat and talked in the entrance hall of the dormitory building until the announcement actually went off.” 

“Did you see anyone else?” He questions. 

“Ergh. It’s not like I was paying attention. I remember Yumeno-san and Chabashira-san coming in, though. Yumeno-san went into her room, but Chabashira-san went back out into the courtyard. I think Shinguuji and Gokuhara-kun went to their rooms as well.” 

“Okay. Thanks.” 

Saihara is just getting ready to leave for the dining hall to ask the others when the monitor in Momota’s room flickers to life and that annoying chime rings out. 

“That’s all the time you’re getting!” Monokuma says cheerfully. “The class trial will now commence. Please make your way to the shrine of judgement.” 

“Already?” Saihara tugs at his hair in frustration. “We weren’t done yet!” 

“Calm down.” Ouma presses a hand to Saihara’s back. “We can ask about alibis at the trial.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” 

“Well, let’s get going.” Toujou gets to her feet and smooths out the skirt of her seifuku. “Another boring class trial to suffer through is waiting for us.” 

With that, the three of them leave the dorms and start their journey towards the red door concealing the shrine. 

Another class trial, to suffer through, to argue in, to survive. 

Saihara just hopes he can do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the 'how' of this case is kind of too obvious, but after more rewrites than I usually do this is the best way I could lay it out, even though I'm not happy with the chapter. Would 100% love theories in the comments, both because they are cool and funky and fresh and so I know how much I should up my game for the next trial. 
> 
> Also, I know I've basically only just gotten into a weekly posting schedule, but it will probably become sporadic again soon as uni starts on monday...rip.


	11. chapter two: who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes - deadly life (trial-part one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to post the trial in two parts, so the length is more in line with other chapters in the fic, hope no one minds!

The elevator descends through the ground for the second time. This time, Saihara doesn’t sequester himself in a corner with Akamatsu. This time, he stands alone, but also with everyone else.

It isn’t until he takes his place at his podium that he remembers that the one to his left was Momota’s. The first trial, Momota had stood there and asked him if he was okay, told him he was smart, told him to help get them through the trial. Now, the only thing on Saihara’s left is a silent black and white photograph, crossed out in red. 

“Ahem! Now then, let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial. During the trial you’ll present your arguments for who the culprit is and vote for ‘whodunnit’. Vote correctly, and only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person… I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will graduate from this academy! Also, refusing to vote will result in your death, so you better vote for someone! Are you kids ready to rock and roll?”

With that, the trial begins. It feels a little more steady than the last time, though not by much— they’re more confident, having done this once before, but having seen what awaits at the end of the trial, the seriousness of the situation is heavy in the air.

“Well, the good news is we know the murder weapon this time,” Iruma states.

“We do?” Chabashira asks.

“Well obviously!” Iruma shouts.

“It was right next to the body, right?” Gokuhara questions. 

“Oh yeah!” Yumeno says. “I remember now.” 

“Yeah, the weapon is without a doubt that fucking knife that was left by Momota-kun’s body.” Iruma gesticulates. 

“Actually, I don’t think that’s correct,” Saihara argues. 

“You know, my standards for you are so low, Iruma-san, but you still always manage to fall short of them.” Akamatsu laughs.

Saihara quickly interjects before Iruma can no-doubt fire back. “The knife was completely clean. If it was used there would have been blood on it.” 

“Couldn’t the killer have simply washed the knife?” Shinguuji asks. 

“If they did that, then why put it back by the body? If their intention was to cover up the weapon they used, they would have put it away as well.”

“Maybe their reason for washing off the knife was different, then!” Iruma insists. 

“There’s another reason that the knife couldn’t have been the weapon, though. The wounds were clearly made with something very thin. The knife’s blade was too thick.” 

“Well, if you’re so sure it wasn’t the knife, then why don’t you tell us what it was, asshole! Because I don’t see anything else it could be.” Iruma crosses her arms. 

Once again, the answer falls into his mind letter by letter. The weapon was…

Okay, that sounds weird. He should probably ease everyone into the idea so they don’t stare at him like he’s grown two heads— just the idea of that look aimed at him by so many eyes makes him want to crawl out of his skin. 

“Well, the weapon wasn’t left at the scene, but it was nearby. This might sound a little strange, but...it was the lid of a tin of a fruit.” 

“....Is this a joke?” Iruma asks. “Are you fucking with me? If that’s the kind of answer you’re gonna come up with, then I must be right about the knife being the weapon.”

Saihara searches for how to explain his point, but he's unsure what to say, her argumentative tone making it difficult to collect his thoughts. 

Thankfully, Ouma speaks up instead. “I agree with Saihara-chan. When we found the lid, it cut Amami-chan’s finger open, so clearly it’s sharp enough.” 

Amami brandishes his finger for them all to see. He’d apparently managed to find a bandage between when he received the cut and now, covering up the wound, but some blood has seeped through the white material. “I picked up the lid because I noticed it was damp. It seemed strange to me, since the rest of the trash was dry.” 

“Well, there’s juice inside those cans,” Yumeno mentions. “Really tasty juice. Wouldn’t that be why it was damp?” 

“I don’t think so.” Amami shakes his head. “That kind of juice is sticky, but the liquid on the lid wasn’t. Also, it wasn’t just damp on one side, but all over. No, what I think is more likely is that for some reason, the lid had been rinsed clean.” 

“Why do that if it was just going to be thrown out anyway?” Chabashira grumbles.

“Obviously to try and disguise that it was the murder weapon.” Akamatsu rolls her eyes. “Sure, throwing it away lessened the chances that it would be found, but to be extra safe the killer made an attempt to make it look inconspicuous. Not enough of one, obviously, if even Saihara-kun could figure it out.” 

“But something about it doesn’t add up.” Amami sighs. “Presumably, the lid was rinsed off in the kitchen, since that’s where the nearest sink to the dining hall was. So, why not throw it in the garbage there? Why go to the kitchen, then wait until they were outside to finish disposing of the evidence?” 

“Maybe they just weren’t thinking straight.” Gokuhara suggests. 

“We’d be more likely to investigate the kitchen than outside considering the scene of the crime, so it could have been another attempt to hide the evidence.” Harukawa says. 

“What if the killer didn’t go to the kitchen at all,” Yumeno offers.

“That’s right, Yumeno-san,” Saihara tells her. 

“Wait, really? I was kind of just guessing.” 

“The killer could have gone to the kitchen, but there were other sources of water nearby. Outside, the courtyard was still set up with the things from our picnic. That includes multiple bottles of water, and an empty one was found in the trash can as well as the lid. It seems likely this is how the killer washed off the blood.” 

“But wait, if this is all true...why was there a knife at the scene at all?” Shirogane asks.

“There’s a few reasons that could be,” Ouma says vaguely. “For now, I think we should focus on something else and come back to that later.” 

“Focus on what, exactly?” She pouts. 

“I’d like to ask about alibis,” Saihara cuts in. “I know the time of death isn’t listed in the Monokuma file, but it must have been sometime between 09:45pm and 10:00pm.”

“Oh...and how exactly do you know so much about the murder, Saihara-kun?” Akamatsu twirls a strand of hair around her finger. “Could it be…” 

“It’s logic.” He glares at her. “We all know that the dining hall is closed between the hours of 10:00pm and 08:00am. I saw Momota-kun at roughly 09:45pm, as did many other people. He went to the kitchen, and no one else could have gotten into the dining hall after 10:00pm, so he must have died before then but after the last time we saw him.”

“He could have died in the morning, though.” She argues. “After the morning announcement went off, but before anyone else got to the dining hall. You can’t be sure it was the night before.” 

“Yes, I can. I was outside the dining hall before 08:00am, as were Amami-kun and Shinguuji. We were the ones who set off the body discovery announcement when we entered the dining hall.” 

“I told you this.” Amami shoots a sideways glance at her. 

“Did you?” Oops, must have slipped my mind.” She shrugs, though she sounds neither apologetic nor like she’d forgotten at all. “Still…I wonder if that’s really the only time he could have died…” 

“What game are you trying to play now, Akamatsu-san?” Toujou asks casually. 

“Me? Playing a game? It really just slipped my mind. But thankfully, the oh-so-smart Saihara-kun corrected me. So...as for my alibi, I wasn’t really tired so I went to the library to see if I could find a half-decent book. Oh, but don’t worry, my prison guards were with me.” She finishes with a smile. 

“I’d prefer if you just called us your friends...or more, in my case…” Shirogane replies. “But yes, that’s right. Akamatsu-san, Amami-kun and myself all went to the library for a while. We stayed until maybe 10:30, before doing back to the dorms and going to bed.” 

“No complaints with that testimony here,” Amami says. 

Shinguuji offers their alibi next. “When Shirogane-san pointed out the time during the picnic, I thought it best to retire to bed, so that’s what I did. This may sound suspicious on the surface, but I walked straight from the courtyard to the dormitory with Gokuhara-kun and he saw me enter my room. I hope this shall suffice.” 

“Yes, same here.” Gokuhara nods. “I walked from the courtyard to the dormitory with Shinguuji. They didn’t see me go into my room, though, as they went into theirs first…Oh! But Toujou-san and Iruma-san would have seen me.” 

“Yeah, we were talking in the fucking...uhhh...round middle bit.” Iruma waves her hands wildly trying to explain. “So we saw Gokuhara-kun and Shinguuji go into their rooms, and…the little redhead go into her room.” 

“Her name is Himiko!” Chabashira protests. 

“Oooh...is that a given name I hear?” Iruma leans her chin in her hand and bats her eyelashes. “If you and the redhead are going at it, then you can tell whoever the fuck cares after the trial.” 

Chabashira turns bright red and splutters her way through her next words. “That’s— Tenko — uhhhhhh—“ 

“Ooooh, is love blooming?” Monokuma says, in the gossiping voice of a teenage girl at a sleepover. “Are Yumeno Himiko and Chabashira Tenko about to be our first confirmed couple? I’ll be honest, I thought Harukawa Maki and Angie Yonaga might beat them to it.” 

“So, time for my alibi!” Ouma announces loudly. “I was in the courtyard the whole time. So were Saihara-chan, Harukawa-chan, and Angie-chan! Chabashira-chan walked Yumeno-chan to her room, then she came back and was with us the rest of the time.” 

“How long was she gone for?” Shinguuji asks. 

“Not long at all. I doubt she’d have time to do anything malicious….unless she has super-speed, but we’re all boring, everyday people, so that’s not possible!” 

“So, that’s all the alibis!” Akamatsu says. “Are you satisfied now, Saihara-kun?” 

And here, he sees where Akamatsu was leading him. He realises what she must have known or at least guessed at a while ago now— but instead of saying it outright, she pulled him into a trap formed of his own flawed reasoning. 

“Everyone has an alibi.” He breathes. 

“ _Everyone?”_ Chabashira screeches. “How is that possible?” 

“We must have made a mistake somewhere,” Yumeno insists. “Or, someone is...lying.” 

“Well, if anyone can poke a hole in another’s alibi, the floor is yours,” Akamatsu says. 

“Well….” Amami clears his throat. “Iruma-san, Toujou-san, did you actually see each other go into your rooms?” 

“More or less.” Toujou shrugs. 

“Even if we hadn’t, we were together right until the announcement played. Even if one of us ran off, we wouldn’t have been able to get into the dining hall,” Iruma reminds them. 

“Then…” Gokuhara is scratching his chin. “Did you see anyone come back out of their rooms?” 

“Nope. The only person who left the dormitory was Chabashira-san, and she apparently wasn’t gone long enough.” 

“So, everyone at the dormitory definitely went into their rooms, and stayed until nighttime,” Saihara summises. “Then...Amami-kun, Shirogane-san, and Akamatsu-san, were you really together the whole time?” 

“We definitely were,” Shirogane says. “What about...whatever it is you guys do in the courtyard, were _you_ definitely all there the whole time?” 

“No one left, we can all agree to that.” Harukawa nods. 

What does this mean? It doesn’t add up. Everyone’s alibi is watertight, but Momota was still found dead in the dining hall, so someone had to have killed him. 

“Is it really true no one could have gotten in in the morning? All we have to go on is the word of Saihara-kun, Amami-kun, and Shinguuji, but...could have they been working together?” Toujou suggests. 

“Why would we do that?” Amami snorts, like he finds the situation so incredulous it’s amusing. 

“I don’t know. It just seemed a possibility we should throw out. Do what you want with it.” 

“Are accomplices even possible?” Ouma asks. “Hey, Monoaccordian, what do you have to say?” 

The bear sighs a long-suffering sigh. “It’s Monokuma. And yes, the blackened can have an accomplice, or more than one, but only the person who actually does the killing will be labelled as the blackened. They alone will be executed if they’re caught, and they alone will graduate if they escape the vote.” 

“So basically, it’s pointless,” Akamatsu concludes. “There’s no benefit to working together.” 

“That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t happen though! There could be more reasons involved than just graduation. Like revenge, and blackmail, and—“ 

“Can you all stop, please?” Saihara cuts off Shirogane’s blabbering. “I can prove that the three of us had nothing to do with the murder.”

“Then where’s the evidence?” Akamatsu says. “I sure don’t remember finding any…” 

“It isn’t evidence that appeared in this case. Actually, it’s evidence from the previous case. The body discovery announcement played when the three of us found Momota-kun. Monokuma explained to us how that announcement works, right? He said that the killer is not included in the three people total. While there are exceptions, no one but the three of us were around when we found the body, so Monokuma had no reason to bypass that rule for the sake of the case. If only one or two of us were involved in the murder, that would be a different story, but as the three of us met up before the announcement, a solo killer would not have been able to get into the dining hall and back out. So, it wasn’t us.” 

It takes a while for that to seem to sink in with everyone. Saihara isn’t really surprised, he feels like he’d talked for way too long there, but the suspense leaves him antsy nonetheless. Being accused of murder, when it’s something he’s tried so hard to not do, has left him feeling pretty annoyed. 

“That does make sense,” Someone (Shirogane) finally acknowledges. 

“Buuuuut it doesn’t solve our problem,” Ouma reminds them. “The way we’re looking at it now, this murder shouldn’t have been possible.” 

“It’s against the rules to go into the dining hall at nighttime, but it’s not possible for the murder to have occurred before or after nightime either…” Chabashira recaps. 

“In this case, I’d like to ask Monokuma something,” Akamatsu says. “Well, I wouldn’t _like_ to, but I have to.” 

“Always calling on me for answers, and this is the thanks I get,” Monokuma laments. “Well, what’s your question this time?” 

“What actually happens when somebody breaks one of your rules?” 

“Well, obviously they’ll be mercilessly slaughtered by the Exisals! Of course, executing someone without an audience is nowhere near as gratifying, so an alarm will sound out urging everyone to come watch their careless classmate turn into a carefully created corpse.” 

“And that certainly didn’t happen,” Harukawa observes. 

“So, that means no rules were broken last night, right?” Yumeno checks. 

“Geez, do you want me to spell it out for ya? No. No rules, as they are written in your monopads, were broken last night, or in relation to this case,” Monokuma says.

“So the culprit definitely couldn’t have gotten into the dining hall at nighttime? So...someone’s alibi must be wrong after all?” Yumeno scrunches up her face and presses her fingers to her temples.

“...Wait….” Saihara says. 

He fishes his monopad out of his pocket, turning it on and flicking to the rules tab. On the surface, Monokuma’s words would _seem_ to refute the idea that the murder had happened during nighttime, but his wording...as well as something he said earlier…

Rule number seven: **"Nighttime" is officially designated as the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. During this time, the dining hall and gymnasium are off-limits.**

Off-limits, definition: not to be entered. 

Could the murder have happened before nightime? No. 

Could the murder have happened in the morning? No. 

Is there a chance the murder could have happened during nighttime? Yes.

“Monokuma? The dining hall is off-limits during nighttime, which is why you lock it, correct?”

The bear doesn’t answer...Saihara will take that as a yes. 

“But, according to the rules themselves, the door being locked isn’t actually _part_ of the rules, just that no one _enters_ the dining hall.” 

Silence, still. 

“You said it yourself, in fact, to myself, Ouma-kun, and Toujou-san. You said opening doors is not against the rules.” 

The bear is silent for a few more beats, then it explodes in rage. “I knew I shouldn’t have given you that extra hint! Me and my big mouth, huh? But my voice is just so nice to listen to…” 

Akamatsu smiles, satisfied. “So, now we know. This murder could have actually happened during nighttime. Oh, and of course, this makes all our alibis invalid.” 

There’s a chorus of groans and curses at that. It seems like no matter how far they get in a trial, they always end up back at the beginning. 

“Hey, why aren’t we allowed in the dining hall at nighttime anyway?” Chabashira brings up. 

Monokuma swallows. “Uhhh...I’m very against midnight snacking. Besides, It’s tradition.” 

“Tradition?” Ouma asks skeptically.

“Yes, tradition! All schools have a rule like this!” 

“I still don’t see how the murder could have happened at nighttime,” Toujou brings the conversation back around to the case. “Yes, perhaps it wasn’t against the rules for someone to open the dining hall doors, but it was still against the rules to enter the dining hall. The culprit shouldn’t have been able to enter...neither should Momota-kun, for that matter.” 

“I don’t know about the culprit, but wasn’t Momota already in the dining hall?” Harukawa says. “That is where he told us he was going when we last saw him.” 

“But he would have to leave before nighttime, right? If he didn’t he’d be breaking the rule,” Amami responds. 

“Uh, I didn’t mention it earlier...but I actually did see Momota not long after nighttime started. He went from the school building to the dormitory,” Yumeno says. 

Akamatsu clicks her tongue. “And you didn’t mention this earlier, why?” 

“I forgot, okay! I mean...I didn’t exactly forget, I guess, but when Saihara-kun started saying the murder must have happened before 10:00pm I just figured I’d imagined it or something.” 

“You’re useless,” Akamatsu tells her. 

“Take that back!” Chabashira yells. 

“I’m okay, Tenko.” Yumeno smiles. “I’d rather we don’t fight and get on with the trial.”

Chabashira deflates, the anger leaving her body all at once. “Yeah. Okay.” 

“So, somehow, both Momota-kun and the culprit entered the dining hall during the hours it was off-limits without breaking the rules, and at least one of them managed to open a locked door,” Saihara recounts. “I think we should focus on how the door was opened first.” 

“Okay!” Yumeno says, then, “....So how _was_ the door opened?”

“I bet Monokuma just forgot to lock it. The thing has cotton for brains, after all,” Iruma says offhandedly.

“Could he have actually forgotten?” Chabashira questions. 

“That doesn’t seem likely...he seems very particular about these rules,” Shirogane says. “Oh! I bet that they talked Monokuma into letting them in.”

“How would they do that? If he’s as strict about the rules as we think he is, he wouldn’t break them just because someone asked him nicely,” Shinguuji refutes.

“Could the door have been broken down?” Yumeno wonders.

“There were no signs of damage,” Amami points out. 

“Ooooh! What if there’s a secret hidden entrance!” She says instead. 

Ouma’s voice rings out, loud and attention-grabbing. “Wanna know what I think? They could have picked the lock!” 

“I think that’s right!” Saihara agrees. “In the trash can, the same one where we found the murder weapon and the water bottle, were four small, rounded pieces of plastic. If I’m right, they were parts of bobby pins that had been broken off. That’s a common way that locks are picked— breaking off the ends of bobby pins and bending what’s left until they function as lockpicks...right?” 

“Yep!” Ouma agrees. “It’s a bit more fiddly than using actual lockpicks, but if you know how what you’re doing it works just as well.”

“Astonishing.” Shinguuji quirks a brow. “You admit your guilt so readily?” 

“Hmmmmm?” Ouma hums, turning to face them. “I don’t recall doing that at all.” 

“You just said yourself that the lock to the dining hall was picked. You are the only person in this academy who knows how to pick locks, correct?” 

“I’m the only person who’s _said_ I know how to pick locks. It doesn’t mean that no one else is able to.” 

“That’s what your defence comes down to? That it’s _possible_ someone else secretly knows how to do the one thing you’re known for?” Akamatsu says derisively.

Ouma seems alarmingly relaxed considering the current line of questioning. Then again, he’d probably figured out the lockpicking aspect of the case earlier than Saihara had, considering his experience. He must have prepared himself for it...or maybe he truly is just unbothered...or maybe…

“If I was the culprit, why would I be the one to bring up lockpicking? Obviously it would get me suspected.” 

“You probably knew you’d be figured out, so you just gave up.” Toujou shrugs. 

“Toujou-chan, you saw me pick the door to Momota-kun’s dorm room earlier. The evidence of why it isn’t me is right in front of you.” 

It is? Saihara was there too...so…

He pictures the scene in his mind. The three of them try the door, before accepting the fact it’s locked. Monokuma shows up, and explains why as well as hinting at the events of the case. Once the bear disappears, Ouma pulls a pair of lockpicks from his pocket— 

There! 

“Ouma-kun carries actual lockpicks. Why would he go to the effort of using bobby pins instead?” 

“Thanks, Saihara-chan! At least someone pays attention.” He sticks his tongue out at Toujou. 

“He could have just not had his lockpicks on him,” Harukawa suggests. 

“I carry them everywhere.”

“He did it on purpose to confuse us!” Iruma accuses.

“If I wanted to do that, wouldn’t I have just covered up the fact that the lock had been picked at all rather than leave evidence at the scene? The hair grip pieces being there is what ended with me being accused in the first place.” 

“There’s no logical reason that Ouma-kun would use bobby pins instead of his own lockpicks,” Saihara insists. 

“I agree with Saihara-kun!” Yumeno says.

“Tenko does too.” 

“...He’s not totally off the hook yet, but just accusing him now is getting us nowhere. As much as I’d love for Ouma-kun to get executed, let’s look at some more evidence first,” Akamatsu says, disturbingly cheerful. 

“If it was done with hair accessories, then doesn’t that point to the suspect being a girl?” Shirogane asks. 

“Alright, how many of you bitches have bobby pins in your hair!” Iruma bellows her question.

“Well, you do,” Ouma points out. 

Iruma splutters. Saihara has a feeling she’d forgot this fact. 

“The girls with bobby pins are...Iruma-san, Yumeno-san, Harukawa-san, and Akamatsu-san,” Shirogane lists. 

“But you’re all wearing them,” Amami points out.

“There’s spares of accessories in our dorm rooms, just like with our clothes,” Toujou informs him. 

“I don’t think we can assume that only the people currently wearing bobby pins can be responsible, or just girls,” Ouma says. “All of the non-girls here have hair long enough to style too. Actually, aren't there bobby pins in Gokuhara-kun’s bedroom? Anyone has access to that, so even if the killer didn’t have their own bobby pins, they could have got them from there.” 

Gokuhara nods. “They’re helpful for keeping my hair out of the way when I don’t want it in my face.” 

“I do not tend to style my hair, other than using a straightening iron, but I do not believe gender plays a role here,” Shinguuji adds.

Shirogane whines. “Darn it, I guess my idea’s a bust. So where do we go from here? We know how the doors were opened, but we still don’t know how Momota and the culprit got into the dining hall without breaking the rules.” 

“Well, that’s because we’re not thinking about it properly!” Ouma declares. “ _Were_ both Momota-kun and the culprit in the dining hall?” 

“Well, yeah. That’s where the body was discovered, so _obviously_.” Shirogane rolls her eyes. 

“Do you think that maybe...only one of them was in the dining hall…” Gokuhara ponders. 

“That still would have broken the rule. Buuuut...there’s another possibility. One that seems preeeetty likely when you look at all the evidence.” 

All the evidence? That hardly narrows it down...Saihara goes through his mental list of evidence, trying to pick out anything that might point him in the direction of what Ouma is talking about. 

He can’t find one, until he realises that’s because there’s _several_. All pretty small on their own, but when put into a bigger picture completely change the expected image. 

“The murder didn’t occur in the dining hall at all!” He announces. 

He can feel everyone’s eyes on him after that statement. He fidgets where he stands, but only for a moment before he forces himself to still and calmly lay out his reasoning. 

“There’s a few pieces of evidence that point to this conclusion. The main one is that outside the dining hall, in front of the courtyard entrance, there were flecks of blood. It wasn’t much, but it was definitely there. On the contrary, there was even less blood than that where we found Momota-kun. The murder not occurring in the dining hall is also supported by the fact we found the weapon, makeshift lockpicks, and an empty water bottle outside. Obviously, the killer would have to dispose of these things outside if they were never and couldn’t be in the dining hall in the first place.”

“Then why did we find Momota’s body _inside_ the dining hall? Surely, he must have been there at some point,” Shinguuji counters. 

“And it wasn’t just Momota’s body we found in the dining hall! There was also that knife. It may not have been the murder weapon, but it had to be involved somehow,” Shirogane says. 

“Those things can be explained...I think,” Yumeno defends Saihara’s point. 

“I investigated the courtyard too, and I think Saihara is on to something,” Amami says.

“It makes much more sense that the murder happened in the dining hall!” Shirogane argues. 

Iruma sniffs. “Saihara-kun just says whatever he wants. The murder must have occurred in the dining hall!” 

“I only got a look outside briefly, but hey, I’ll go with Saihara-kun,” Toujou adds. 

Shinguuji weighs next. “Saihara’s hypothesis has many holes.” 

“I...don’t really know. I didn’t consider that the murder happened anywhere but the dining hall,” Gokuhara sounds torn. “It seems weird to change it now.” 

“Seriously? Just let me explain, since Saihara-kun is doing such a bad job of it. It happened outside,” Akamatsu sighs. 

Harukawa thinks for a moment, before saying “I do not wish to argue with Saihara-kun, but I can’t see where he’s going with this.” 

“Angie...feels the same as Harukawa-san.” 

“Uh-oh! Looks like you’re split down the middle!” Monokuma announces. “You know what this means! Now presenting: The Ultimate Academies very own morphenomenal trial grounds—“ 

“Not again,” Akamatsu complains as their podiums begin to lift into the air. 

Himself, Ouma, Chabashira, Yumeno, Akamatsu, Toujou, and Amami are on one side. 

Shirogane, Iruma, Gokuhara, Shinguuji, Harukawa, and Angie are on the other. 

“If the murder occurred outside the dining hall, then how come we found Momota inside?” Shirogane starts.

“If the murder occurred inside the dining hall, then why is there blood outside?” Amami refutes. 

“That blood could have already been there, could it not?” Shinguuji says. 

“It wasn’t already there. We use that entrance all the time, someone would have noticed it before,” Ouma points out. 

“The knife was inside too!” Iruma says. 

“We have no idea how the knife is connected to the case,” Chabashira stresses.

Gokuhara goes next. “If the murder didn’t occur in the dining hall, then doesn’t that make the reasoning that the murder occurred at nighttime wrong?” 

“Our alibis for before and after are still intact,” Akamatsu says. “It had to be during nighttime.”

“Would someone really commit a murder in the courtyard? Anyone could have walked by and seen…” Angie is staring down at her podium. 

“It was nighttime. Most of us were in bed the whole time,” Yumeno says. “Depending on the exact time, the culprit could have felt pretty confident no one would be around in the courtyard.” 

Harukawa frowns. “Wouldn’t Momota-kun being in the dining hall still break the off-limits rule?” 

“If he didn’t end up there until after he was already dead, then that could mean the rule doesn’t apply,” Toujou reasons.

“Then let’s ask Monokuma!” Shirogane concedes. “For now, we’ll consider your theory.” 

The podiums float back down to the ground. Once they’re firmly in place, everyone takes a moment to right themselves as Shirogane speaks to Monokuma. 

“Monokuma, would a dead student still be breaking the rules by being in an off-limits area?” 

“Eh, no. You can’t punish a dead person, so what’s the point?” 

“So that’s it.” Saihara nods. “Momota-kun was moved to the dining hall after the incident.” 

“That still doesn’t make sense though. Surely the culprit would have to enter the dining hall to place the body there,” Harukawa says. 

“They could have used some special method that allowed them to do it without stepping foot in the dining hall themselves. In fact, I think that’s exactly what they did.” 

“A special method?” Gokuhara blinks. “Like what?” 

“I believe this evidence will solve that. Momota-kun's jacket was torn when we found him. Outside, there were some dark fibres left of a nail sticking out of the wood. The culprit pushed or rolled the body along the floor, which could allow them to move the body without having to enter the off-limits area. At some point while they were doing that, Momota-kun's jacket snagged on the nail. “ 

“Huh,” Shirogane exclaims. “I was kind of hoping some cool contraption would be involved, like...a ropeway, y'know?”]

What the hell is a ropeway...never mind, that's not important right now. 

“So, to recap so far. The murder actually occurred outside the dining hall, specifically, in front of the courtyard entrance. Once Momota-kun was dead, they picked the lock to that entrance and moved the body across the floor until it was in the dining hall.”

“There’s a piece of evidence I’d like to bring up that confuses me. It might be related to what we’re talking about,” Gokuhara says. 

“Go ahead.” 

“Well, there were only a few specks of blood outside, and almost none in the dining hall, right? So...where did the blood go?”

“The culprit likely cleaned it up, but missed some. Not surprising, considering it would have been dark outside.” 

Gokuhara nods firmly. “Well, that’s the evidence I want to bring up. There were some bloody tissues in Momota-kun’s pocket. Were they used to clean up the blood?” 

The blood covered tissue. It’s possible that it was used to clean up the scene, but blood wasn’t the only thing found on the tissue...taking that into account, the reason for the tissue is actually….

“I…think I know why the tissue was there, but you’re going to have to take my word on it. I noticed last night that, for some reason, Momota-kun was coughing up blood. There was a greenish substance on the tissue as well, likely phlegm. I believe the blood on the tissue was indeed Momota-kun’s, but rather than being related to his neck wound it was related to...whatever was going on with his cough.” 

“He was _coughing up blood?_ ” Yumeno screeches.

“That’s—“ Chabashira scrunches her face up in disgust. “Was he poisoned too or something?”

“Poison? We’ve already went through two murder weapons, we don’t need another,” Harukawa complains. 

“There’s no reason to believe he was poisoned,” Akamatsu cuts in sharply. “I don’t know what was wrong with Momota-kun, but you can discuss it later if you care so much. For now, we’re going back to solving the case.” 

“So...if the tissue wasn’t used to clean up the blood, then what was?” Gokuhara continues. 

“Oh, it was another water bottle!” Yumeno says. “That’s how they cleaned the weapon.” 

“They could have used their clothes to wipe it up,” Shinguuji suggests. 

“Or the garden hose,” Amami contributes. 

“I think that’s right,” Saihara agrees. “The hose was on the ground instead of rolled up and put away, and I don’t remember anyone else using it recently. It has more pressure than a water bottle, so it would have been more effective, and doesn’t leave smears like wiping it up dry would.”

“Tenko has a question. Why would Momota-kun even be outside during nighttime? Himi— Yumeno-san saw him go back to his door. He should have been in his room.” 

Harukawa nods. “He declined to train with us due to not feeling up to it. If he was tired or unwell, why would he be walking around the courtyard hours later? It doesn’t make sense.” 

“If he wasn’t feeling well, he could have decided he wanted some fresh air,” Gokuhara offers. 

“In the middle of the night?” Amami doubts.

“Well, we don’t have any evidence to suggest his thought process,” Gokuhara defends. “It’s just a guess.” 

“Actually, there is evidence that tells us why he was out during the night,” Ouma informs everyone. 

“There is?” 

“Yeah. Don’t feel bad for not knowing about it, though. We had to go pretty out of the way to get it.” 

“So what is this evidence, if you don’t mind telling us?” Shinguuji asks. 

“Well, myself, Ouma-kun, and Toujou-san went to Momota-kun’s dorm room,” Saihara starts, but Toujou cuts him off. 

“Before Saihara-kun explains it, is everyone aware of the method of tracing a pencil on a sheet of paper to get an imprint of what was written on the sheet above?”

Everyone in the room nods, though Saihara can’t help but notice that some of them hesitate. Those that do seem to be deep in thought as if trying to remember _how_ they know it...like Toujou herself had struggled to remember…

“Okay, that’s good. Saihara-kun, continue, or whatever.” 

“Ah, right.” it takes him a moment to get his thoughts back on track. “So, there was a memopad in Momota-kun’s dorm room. The top sheet had been ripped off, so we—“

“ _I”_ Toujou interrupts again.

“So _Toujou_ - _san_ ran a pencil across the next sheet, and the imprints of a note appeared,” he finishes, internally rolling his eyes. 

“Well, don’t leave them hanging!” Ouma moans childishly. “Come on, Saihara-chan, tell them what the note said! Tell them! Tell them!” 

“I was getting there!” He complains. “It said ‘I have your secret. Meet me outside the dining hall to talk. I’ll be there at three a.m. If you don’t show up, I’ll tell everyone what it is.’”

“Holy shit.” Iruma cackles. 

“You could have mentioned that earlier,” Chabashira mutters, then, quieter “this is why I shouldn’t have made friends with boys.” 

“So….” Shirogane says. “The motive did have something to do with it.” 

“Well, it looks like what happened is rather clear now...whoever this note was addressed to is the culprit we are searching for,” Shinguuji declares. 

“So...who was the note to?” Gokuhara wonders. 

“There’s no name written on it. It doesn’t say who it’s for, or who it’s from— the only reason we know it’s from Momota-kun is that the memo pad was found in his room,” Ouma says. “Maybe he did that because that would be harder to trace if it ended up in the wrong hands or something? Or...maybe he just forgot and the idiot accidently did something smart.”

“Is it possible someone else put the memo pad in his room?” Amami asks. 

“Yeah, this could be a frame-job!” Iruma asserts.

“Framing him for what?” Akamatsu laughs. “He can’t exactly be the killer, since he’s dead.” 

“But it still could have been done to confuse the details of the case,” Shirogane adds.

“Oh, I know. I just wanted to remind Iruma-san of how much of an idiot she is.” 

“Back to the point,” Amami says. “Is there evidence that it was definitely Momota-kun who wrote the note?”

Saihara‘s mind is racing . He doesn’t have evidence that someone else didn’t place the memopad in Momota’s room, but he’s pretty sure it’s highly unlikely. If someone were attempting to fabricate the evidence, wouldn’t they have signed the note off in Momota’s name? And what exactly would their end goal be? But...this discussion won’t end without evidence. 

“I’ve seen Momota-kun’s handwriting before. I have no doubt that it was his,” he lies. 

“Oh, and when did you see his handwriting?” Akamatsu asks, disbelief clear in her voice. 

“During training. He wrote me a guide of some exercises I can do in my free time as well.”

He’s never thought much about the nature of lying. If there’s a scale of liars and honest people, he probably falls somewhere in the middle with most everyone else in the world. Yet, the lies come to him surprisingly easily. 

“Oh yeah?” She smirks. “Did Momota-kun write out these guides for anyone else? Or were you so hopeless at doing things on your own you ended up as his little pet project?” 

“He wrote one for me too!” Yumeno shouts. “ _And_ I saw him give Saihara-kun his.” 

Saihara’s breath hitches. It never occurred to him that someone would back him up in his lie. Not only that, Yumeno could very well know that Momota did no such thing. She likely knows that Saihara is lying but...she trusts him enough to help…

Trust is terrifying. But...he’s grateful for it...and he hopes one day he can return it in kind. 

“I guess that settles that then,” Harukawa acknowledges. 

“So, the obvious question is, how do we work out the notes recipient?” Shinguuji says. 

“Can someone just admit it?” Toujou huffs. “This is really dragging.” 

Unsurprisingly, no one does. 

“It’s hopeless,” Chabashira complains. “It could be anyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really, who's ever heard of the term ropeway? I had to read a guide for that particular bit of the original trial I will not lie to you
> 
> EDIT: also tysm for 200 kudos! It means a lot!


	12. chapter two: who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes - deadly life (trial-part two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i meant to post this literally the day after part one but i'm going through some stuff rn sorry...that's also why i haven't replied to comments but i still read and appreciate them and I'll try to soon  
> cw: more referenced child abuse, cult things, and like...execution, obviously.

“Actually, not  _ anyone _ ,” Akamatsu hints. 

“So...there is a clue?” Chabashira checks. 

Akamatsu stays silent, a taunting smile taking over her expression. 

“Just tell us, you bitch!” Iruma demands. 

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” She laughs. “There was a clue left at the scene. The culprit tried to dispose of it, but they didn’t quite finish the job.” 

“The piece of paper!” Saihara realises. 

“Okay...and that’s what, exactly?” Chabashira sighs. 

“A scrap of paper was left at the scene. The killer tried to burn it in the barbecue, but a piece was left.” 

“How did they fail to burn it?” She raises an eyebrow. “All they had to do was relight the coals.” 

Could they have just relit the coals? 

“No, they couldn’t. Gokuhara-kun broke the lighter we used to light the barbecue last night, remember?”

“But they indeed managed to dispose of some of the paper?” Shinguuji questions. “How so, if the barbecue was not lit at all?”

“I’ll answer this one!” Iruma puffs out her chest. “A charcoal barbecue can take up to 48 hours to fully extinguish and cool down. Between when we left the courtyard and the three a.m time on the note, it’s possible some embers were still burning, or at least it was still hot enough to melt the paper if not burn it.” 

“Why do you know so much about barbecues, Iruma-chan?” Ouma enquires. 

She shrugs. “I don’t know. My mom was big on practical shit like that. She taught me a few things before she died, I guess. Using a barbecue, fixing a car, computer repairs, crap like that. I’ve forgotten most of it, probably.” 

“So, how does the scrap of paper relate to the case?” Shirogane wonders out loud. 

“It was a letter admitting to their crime,” Gokuhara ventures. 

“Would they really write that down just to burn it? It was probably something else...what if it was a love letter!” Shirogane gushes. 

“To who? Momota-kun? Sounds fake." Chabashira says. "Maybe It was the note that the culprit got from Momota-chan asking them to meet?”

“No, that’s wrong.” Saihara shakes his head. “The paper from the memo pad was white and lined. The scrap we found was cream-coloured and plain.”

“Oh.” She hums. “Well...that does sound kind of familiar…”

“Yeah!” Yumeno enthuses. “I feel like I’ve seen paper like that before…” 

They’ve definitely seen this type of paper. They all have. 

“It’s the same paper that the secrets were written on,” he tells them.

“So someone brought their secret to the scene of the crime!” Gokuhara says. 

“Yep!” Ouma grins. “So, everyone’s first question is probably...who brought the secret to the scene? Momota-chan or the killer?” 

It’s an undeniably important question. Saihara feels he knows the answer, but he double checks his reasoning first. He can’t mess this up. 

Was the secret Momota received on Momota’s person?

No.

Was the secret Momota received in Momota’s dorm room? 

No. 

Who brought the secret to the crime scene?

Momota. 

“It has to be Momota-kun,” he says firmly, having reached his decision. “The secret he received was not on his person, or in his dorm room. It makes sense, as he was the one who set up the meeting, and who mentioned secrets in the first place.”

“Hey!” Shirogane pouts. “You said this was a clue, but what good is a scrap of paper?”

“This scrap of paper narrows down who the recipient of Momota-kun’s note is,” Akamatsu says patiently.

“It does?” Yumeno smiles. “Does it say their name?” 

“Well, not exactly.” Saihara talks, even if the question wasn’t directed at him. Akamatsu’s suddenly kind voice makes his blood boil. “All that was on the scrap of paper was the letter ‘A’.”

“That’s it?” Iruma complains. “That could mean anything.” 

“The ‘A’ may not be significant on its own, but it’s positioning on the paper makes it very important,” Ouma explains. 

The positioning? The scrap of paper was the top left corner if he’s correct, which makes the ‘A’ the first letter on the page…

“I have a question,” Saihara addresses everyone. “When you received your secret, how was it phrased?” 

Confused looks are shared at that, but finally Ouma, who knows what Saihara is getting at, steps forward. 

“Well, without revealing who’s secret I got, since you’re all so against it, and it can’t stop a murder that’s already happened, I’ll explain. I’ll use your name as a placeholder, okay Saihara-chan? So, with that in mind, the secret I got was like this—“ he clears his throat and stands straight, as if he’s about to give a speech. 

“Saihara Shuichi has a secret, and his secret is this: He thinks that Ouma Kokichi is the absolute coolest and bestest person in this killing game.” 

Akamatsu groans “Ignoring all of that, do you idiots get it now? The secrets start with the name of the person whose secret it is.”

“Do you have to call us idiots every two minutes?” Chabashira grouses.

“I rather miss when she was pretending to be nice,” Shinguuji comments idly.

“So...to confirm, you are suggesting that the ‘A’ on the note would be the first letter of the family name of whoever's secret it is?” Harukawa inquires. “In that case, that only leaves two suspects.” 

“Amami-kun and myself. Is that what you were going to say?” Akamatsu places a finger on her chin. “So, which one of us do you think was the killer?”

Silence falls over them like a blanket. Everybody is staring at the two people named, eyes flicking between them, until finally the blanket is thrown off and torn apart in thunderous accusations. 

“Well, Akamatsu-chan  _ is  _ already an attempted murderer,” Ouma points out conversationally. 

“It’s gotta be her! I knew we couldn’t trust the bitch!” Iruma triumphs. 

“Then again, I feel we know so little about Amami-kun...what is he capable of?” Shinguuji ponders. 

“Amami-chan has no memory. Is he really likely to kill over a secret he doesn’t even know? Unless of course he’s lying,” Ouma says wryly. 

“I believe it’s more likely to be Akamatsu-san,” Toujou contributes. 

“So almost all of you pick me, huh?” Akamatsu is still smiling. “Out of the two options, I’m the culprit? Well, I guess you should start the vote, Monokuma.” 

Dread slowly fills Saihara’s veins. Something isn’t right here. Akamatsu is being too casual, too easygoing. When her plan had been revealed in the last trial, she’d fought tooth and nail to maintain her innocence until she had no other choice. Now, she could easily hoist the blame onto Amami, but she’s just letting the chips fall where they may.

“Wait,” Harukawa interjects. “I have Akamatsu-san’s secret.” 

“Oooooh, what is it?” Ouma leans over to her. She ignores him. 

“So...Akamatsu-san can’t be the killer?” Iruma sounds upset. 

“So…that means it’s Amami-kun?” Gokuhara asks. 

“That sure seems to be the only option!” Akamatsu replies. “So, are you going to vote now?” 

Something still isn’t right. Akamatsu is pulling the strings attached to his mind once again, but he can’t reach wherever she’s trying to lead him. Options...she’s said that twice now….

“Amami-kun isn't the only possibility,” he says, sudden and sharp. 

“What are you talking about?” Iruma scoffs. “If it’s not Akamatsu, then he’s the only other person who’s family name begins with ‘A’.”

“It’s suspicious.” Saihara doesn’t deny this. “But he’s still not the only option. There’s an avenue we haven’t been down yet.” 

“Which is?” Harukawa asks darkly. 

He takes a deep breath. In for four, out for seven.

“Angie-san,” he finally starts. The girl he’s addressing looks up suddenly, eyes wide and blinking. She doesn’t say anything, and that’s when he notices that for the last half of this trial she’s been even quieter than usual. “You prefer to go by your given name, correct?” 

She swallows. “Well, yes, Angie does.” 

“If you’re getting at what I think you’re getting that, It doesn’t make any sense,” Harukawa says. “No matter which name she prefers, her full name would be written out.” 

“Harukawa-san, just please let me question her. This is for all our sakes,” he replies, emotionless. He knows that anyone looking at him right now would see someone cold, calculated, dedicated— but it’s not how he feels at all. He simply...feels...detached. Detached from the eyes watching him, detached from Angie’s panic-shaken frame. He is doing what he has to. 

“Angie, you’re not Japanese, are you?” He questions. 

“W-well, Angie’s father is...but she wasn’t born here, and she didn’t grow up here.” 

“Angie...if you were to introduce yourself where you’re from, how would you say your full name?”

Her shaking increases and tears start to well in her eyes.

“Angie Yonaga,” she tells him.

Harukawa growls somewhere in the distance, and his emotions flood back into him.

“Just because that’s how she would say her name doesn’t mean Monokuma or the mastermind or whoever would write it that way.” 

He’s always known Harukawa has a scary side to her, but seeing it in full-force is like witnessing a hurricane. He’s so scared, but it’s so rare, so incredible, that he can’t look away.

“Monoketchup?” Ouma addresses the bear. Despite the teasing name, Ouma’s tone is empty. “Can you give us some insight into how you wrote our names in the secrets?” 

“Bzzzzt!” Monokuma leans forward in his seat. “No can do. This one is something you’ve gotta work out for yourselves. But...I’ll give you a little hint: bears are consistent creatures by nature.”

“Tenko doesn’t think that’s scientifically accurate,” Chabashira mumbles.

Saihara ~~loves~~ hates Monokuma’s hints. They’re so vague it’s ~~exciting~~ frustrating. ~~Unluckily~~ Luckily, he doesn’t have to drive himself crazy over this one, as Akamatsu sighs from across the room. 

“You literally just said her name earlier in the trial. You already gave us the answer. Now, you’re just being annoying.” Akamatsu scoffs.

Saihara thinks he remembers that, now that it’s been brought up. He’d dismissed it as more of Monokuma’s useless banter though...so it’s not easy to remember exactly what was said…

_ “Are Yumeno Himiko and Chabashira Tenko about to be our first confirmed couple? I’ll be honest, I thought Harukawa Maki and Angie Yonaga might beat them to it.” _

“You called her Angie Yonaga,” Saihara says to Monokuma, then recounts the moment for the benefit of the people looking at him with confusion written on their faces. 

“Well...either way, it’s not Angie-san,” Chabashira says. “It’s kind of obvious from the...everything about her...uh, no offence!” 

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Shinguuji says. 

“You can’t be so foolish as to think she wouldn’t betray all of you, can you?” Akamatsu snorts. “There’s no faith to be found anywhere in humanity, no matter how innocent they may seem on the surface.” 

“We have to consider all possibilities,” Ouma says, firm but with a hint of exhaustion. Saihara doesn’t think anyone else picks up on it.

“I agree,” Saihara says. 

He doesn’t want it to be Angie. He considers her a friend, and even if he’d only come to that realisation last night. He doesn’t know what he’d do if another friend betrayed him. 

“So...where do we go from here?” Yumeno looks nervous, though her voice is still more energetic than his on a good day. 

“Well, duh, there’s one easy fucking way to solve this!” lruna announces. “If you have Angie-san's secret, raise your hand.” 

No one does. 

No, does that mean…?

“In that case…” Amami says. “Can whoever has mine please raise their— 

“God, this is boring.” Monokuma wilts. “I’m bored of this line of questioning so…let’s change it up!” 

“You’re not even going to let whoever has my secret have the  _ chance  _ to reveal it or not?” Amami demands, a dark look falling over his face. 

“But—“ Saihara protests. 

“Okay, the two of you darling little suspects better prove your innocence, quick!” Monokuma interrupts. 

Amami and Angie’s podiums move forward, placing them in the spotlight, and it begins. 

“I don’t know my secret, why would I kill whoever has it?” Amami sighs. 

“A-Angie doesn’t know what you’re talking about. She never got any k-kind of n-note from Momota-kun.” 

“Well neither did I,” Amami says easily. 

“Momota-kun was completely normal with me yesterday. I helped him in the warehouse. Surely, if something was going on, we would have been weird around each other?” 

“H-he was normal with Angie too. The last time she saw him, he was perfectly friendly, saying he’d see her later.” 

“Wait!” Saihara cuts through the din. “Angie-san, you said Momota-kun said he would see you later?” 

The podiums move back into their usual places, allowing the conversation to proceed as normal. 

“Well...yes?” Interrogating Angie isn’t easy. It looks like any word too strong could pierce her skin. 

“So, that means he was  _ planning  _ to see you later,” Saihara concludes. 

“Angie, uh—“ 

Harukawa frowns. “Come on, Saihara-kun, it’s just an expression.” 

“Maybe so. But...when he walked off, he didn’t say anything like that to the rest of us. He just said he was going to get water then go to bed. What prompted him to give Angie a separate goodbye, unless it had some meaning behind it?” 

“Angie never got a note, she swears,” Angie whispers. 

“But of course that’s what you’d say if you were the killer,” Akamatsu says. 

“There’s no way to deny it, it’s starting to not look good for Angie-san,” Shirogane says.

“Angie didn’t do anything! She swears!” 

“Please,” Akamatsu’s tone of voice is sly. “You killed him, didn’t you? It’s understandable. Your secret must be preeetty bad if he can use it as blackmail.” 

Shinguuji cocks their head. “So, you’re suggesting that Angie-san received Momota-kun’s note, and planned to kill him due to the fact he knew her secret?” 

“That’s exactly what I’m implying.” 

“She was in the kitchen all day,” Shirogane says. “She could have totally grabbed the knife that we found and planned to use it on Momota-kun.” 

“No, that’s wrong.” Saihara interrupts. “Harukawa-san confirmed that all the knives were still present in the kitchen when her and Angie-san left.” 

“I can confirm that too,” Gokuhara tells them. “I was worried...something might happen again...so I double-checked all the knives, even after both Harukawa-san and Angie-san had already left.” 

“Wait, so who  _ did  _ bring the knife?” Yumeno asks. 

“Someone must have went back inside during the picnic?” Chabashira says. “But, Tenko doesn't remember anyone doing that.” 

“Me neither. 

“Nope.” 

“We would have noticed, right? Considering we’ve been deliberately trying not to split up?” 

Saihara realises something in that moment. 

Ouma’s voice reaches out into the crowd, no trace of laughter, no trace of doubt, only resignation of something he must have worked out a while ago. “Momota-kun brought the knife.” 

“But...he was the victim…” Gokuhara falters. 

“He was the last person to go to the dining hall. The only person after you, Harukawa-san and Angie-san left,” Saihara explains. There’s no emotion in his voice either. No emotion inside him at all. 

“So he brought the knife to defend himself?” Yumeno gasps. “Was Angie-san’s secret really that bad? I don’t believe it.” 

“He was planning to kill her,” Akamatsu says brightly. 

They all go silent at that. In hindsight, it seems so obvious. They all knew Momota— a boy who was quick to anger, it doesn't seem impossible he'd be quick to murder too. Really, Saihara is annoyed he hadn’t realised it earlier. 

“Well, even so. That doesn’t change who the culprit of this case is, does it?” Shinguuji says rationally.

“But is it really Angie-san?” Chabashira still doesn’t sound convinced. 

“It’s not! Angie promises!” 

Her breaths are laboured, her hands wrapped around her middle to protect herself. Is she reacting this way because she’s scared, or because she’s guilty, or both?

“So you didn’t kill Momota-kun to protect your secret?” Iruma demands. 

“No!” Angie takes a deep breath. “Angie isn’t scared of her secret. Angie will tell you it right now. She hasn’t seen it, but there’s only one thing it could be.” 

“You don’t have to do that!” Harukawa says quickly. “You’re being accused on flimsy evidence! And— and I—“

“Please,” Angie looks at Harukawa with tears in her eyes. “Please, just let Angie do this. It’s because of you she has the strength to reveal it. You said she can do it whenever she wants, but she’s ready now.” 

Harukawa hesitates, but eventually nods reluctantly. 

“Angie...used to be part of a cult.” 

“Uhhh...Tenko doesn’t think she heard you correctly…haha….”

“Wow, she’s even crazier than I thought.” Even Akamatsu sounds like she’s not sure how to react. 

Saihara wishes he could say that this doesn’t surprise him. He wishes he could say that yeah, he’d already worked this all out. At the very least, he wishes he could say that it makes sense now, considering what he knows about her. Really, he can’t say anything, because his only thoughts are a chorus of “what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck” and he’d never say that out loud. 

“Just so I am sure, this is not some kind of joke?” Shinguuji, to their credit, seems to be taking this in their stride. Then again, nothing much seems to disturb them. 

“Nope!” Monokuma announces with vigour. “It’s 100% true. Angie Yonaga was once part of a cult of religous crackpots. I remember writing that secret down with my own two paws!”

“But paws don’t have thumbs,” Gokuhara says thoughtfully. 

“And bears have four paws,” Chabashira adds dryly. 

“And you aren’t cute enough to use the word paws!” Yumeno complains.

“Please, just let Angie explain,” Angie says. “Angie isn't from Japan, like she’s already said. She grew up on a small island. On the island, there was a small sect that worshipped their own god. Angie’s parents were part of this sect, so she was born into it, she grew up in it. At first, it was just her life. But...as she got older, she realised that maybe this wasn’t the life she wanted. The sect were vehement in their beliefs, and would do anything to convert others to those beliefs, and punish those who strayed from the path. They manipulated and hurt people. It wasn’t all bad, so Angie tried to live with it. Then...as Angie got older, they wanted her to help convert and punish others too. She hated the things they made her too, and the longer she tried to bear it the more she couldn’t. So, one day. when a boat bringing a food shipment docked, she just...ran. She snuck onto the boat and it took her away. And when the ship docked on land, she just ran further, and further. She remembered that her father had family in Japan, but they’d disowned him when he’d left for the island to marry her mother and be part of the sect Angie had grown up in. She got in contact with them, and they brought her to Japan. That was...two years ago? But Angie...she can’t escape, she’s scared everyday that  _ they  _ will find her and make her go back. She didn’t want to do anything bad. and she doesn’t carry those beliefs anymore. She promises.” 

Angie is trembling, but she gets through her story with a steadiness Saihara didn’t know she was capable of. When she finishes, she stands just the littlest bit taller, like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders. 

“I’m sorry, Angie-san,” Yumeno chokes. “You didn’t deserve any of that. Anything they may have made you do...It’s not your fault.” 

Murmurs of agreement echo throughout the room. 

“Sob story or not,” Shirogane says. “It doesn’t change the fact you killed Momota-kun.” 

“She just revealed her secret. How can you still think she killed him over it?” Harukawa demands. 

“Well...she was pushed into a corner,” Amami says. “Maybe it was a last ditch attempt at proving her innocence.” 

“Angie-san didn’t kill Momota-kun,” Harukawa says, unwavering. 

“Oh yeah?” Iruma spits. “And how do you know?” 

“Simple,” Her voice is calm. Her facial expression is peaceful. She is all the things she should not be considering the next words that leave her lips. “Because I killed him.” 

Saihara does not think he could hear a pin drop, because despite the silence he does not hear the one that drops onto his heart and punctures it. Not does he hear the wind that sends chills through his body, or the laps of waves splashing in his stomach. 

Saihara hears nothing. 

Nothing but that little voice in the back of his mind saying ‘this should be fun’.

“Harukawa-san, that can’t be true!” Angie insists. 

“It is,” Harukawa replies. 

“Please, she’s probably lying to save her nervous little pet's ass,” Iruma says harshly. 

“I’m not lying. I killed Momota-kun.” 

“How would that even happen?” Chabashira asks. “He would have given the note to Angie-san. You wouldn’t have known about it.” 

“Angie never got a note!” Angie insists. 

“He  _ tried  _ to give it to Angie-san,” Harukawa corrects. “He slid it under her door yesterday morning. But, as I sleep in her room, I intercepted it before she had a chance to see it.” 

“And you...went and killed Momota-kun?” Chabashira says quietly. 

“No! That isn’t what happened!” Angie counters. 

“It is,” Harukawa’s voice is gentle. “I’m sorry. I went to the meeting in your place."

Harukawa pulls down one of her knee-high socks, and out falls a crumpled piece of paper. Holding it out to show the trial room, it’s an exact match to the one Momota wrote.

“Angie doesn’t believe it. Angie doesn’t know why you’re lying, but you are.” 

“Angie=san,” Saihara says. “I think...we should just let Harukawa-san talk. Then, with her testimony, we can discuss it.” 

“No!” He has never heard Angie’s voice so loud. “Harukawa-san did not kill Momota-kun. She couldn’t have! Angie doesn’t believe it. It must have been Amami-kun...or someone else. It makes no sense that it was Harukawa-san. Because...she would never do that! Besides, like she said, she sleeps in Angie’s room, so Angie would have heard if she got up in the middle of the night to go out.” 

“No, that’s wrong,” Saihara says, soft but insistent. The wave of emotion that rolled over him a moment ago is gone. There is just the class trial. This is what he has to do. That is a truth that outweighs all others. “Angie-san, I saw Harukawa-san yesterday morning, and she told me that you don’t even wake up to the Monokuma announcement. If you don’t wake up to that, I doubt you would to someone sneaking out of your room.” 

“But— but—“

Angie crumples, defeated, though under her breath she still mutters words of dedicated belief in Harukawa’s innocence. 

“I have a question,” Ouma says out of the blue. “Harukawa-san, if you’re really the killer, that means you picked the lock, right?” 

“Yes, that’s right.” 

“Tenko...doesn’t know if she believes that that’s something Harukawa-san knows how to do,” Chabashira says. “It just doesn’t seem like her.” 

“I agree,” Gonta murmurs. “Harukawa-san is so...I don’t know the word...she just doesn’t seem like that’s a skill she’d need to or want to learn.” 

“Angie-san,” Harukawa says. “Could you show them my secret, please?” 

Angie looks up.

Saihara doesn’t want to look at her face. He doesn’t want to see the emotions he’d find. 

~~ Saihara wants to look. ~~

Saihara doesn’t look. 

“Angie doesn’t want to,” is all Angie says. 

“Angie-san,” Harukawa is as patient as ever with her. “It’s already over. I know you must have realised, as soon as how the dining hall doors were opened was brought up. You denied it to yourself, but you at least knew what it might mean.” 

Angie slowly buries her hand in the pocket of her blazer, pulling out a slip of cream-coloured paper. The hands that hold it out for everyone to see are so ridden with tremors that it takes Saihara far too long to read. 

“Harukawa Maki has a secret, and her secret is this: 

She sneaks into people's homes and steals their money just to survive.” 

“I know how to pick locks because I steal things. It’s not something I like doing, but it’s what I have to do. I entered the care system a few years ago, when my parents passed away. After six months, my best friend offered to run away with me. He wasn’t from the system— but his family wasn't great. I took him up on the offer. We needed money, and we were too young to get jobs, so I turned to stealing. He wanted to be involved too, wanted to help, but I couldn’t let that happen. And that’s how we lived...until one day I never saw him again.” 

“What happened?” Shirogane asks. 

“I don’t know. He just...disappeared one day. I feel like I should know more, like there’s something missing, but I don’t.” She shakes her head.

“Is that…because of our missing memories?” Ouma asks, though he’s more thinking out loud than expecting an answer. 

“I don’t believe Harukawa-san,” Akamatsu says firmly. “Why would she just come clean? She’s lying so she can kill us all.” 

Harukawa doesn’t falter. “I killed him. I went to the meeting in Angie-san’s place. I was hoping I could talk the sender, who turned out to be Momota-kun, out of spreading her secret, but when I got there I realised his intentions were even worse than that—“ 

_ “Why did you send that note to Angie-san?”  _

_ Momota’s fists clench. “Because...I have her secret, so...that means she has mine, right?”  _

_ “She doesn’t,” she tells him. “She has mine. She told me earlier, after we got back from training.” _

_ “Pffft, well isn’t that fucking convenient,” he spits. “Don’t lie to me, Harukawa-san.”  _

_ “I’m not,” she stands firm, even though she’s suddenly more afraid than she’s ever been. _

_ “She has my secret. She has to. And no one can know that! No one can...so I need to get rid of her...and…if you’re going to stand in my way, I need to get rid of you too.” _

_ She sees a glint of silver as he swings for her. Despite her worst fears, she wasn’t prepared.  _

_ The knife never makes contact. Momota falls to his knees, body wracked with violent coughs.  _

_ She could take this opportunity to run. In the morning, she can tell everyone what happened, and they can watch over Momota the way they watch over Akamatsu. Maybe, she can convince him this isn’t the only option. She can help him.  _

_ Through the coughs, she makes out choked words.  _

_ “No one can know.” “I have to do it.” “I have to be strong enough to do it.”  _

_ He’d been planning to kill Angie. He was still willing to kill her. Harukawa can’t let that happen.  _

_ She pulls her jacket sleeve over her hand to protect it and picks up the sharp piece of metal she’d noticed lying on the ground nearby. _

“He really was planning to kill her,” Yumeno says sadly when Harukawa’s story finishes.

“Not only that, he tried to kill you too.” Chabashira isn’t sad, she’s bitterly angry. “Tenko knew he couldn’t be trusted.”

“I...don’t believe it’s entirely his fault,” Harukawa tells them. “I think he’d been driving himself crazy over his secret, whatever it may be, being out there. By the time I got there, he was too far gone to listen to reason. If I’d tried to talk to him earlier, maybe it wouldn’t have ended like this.”

“But why?” Akamatsu still doesn’t quite seem to believe her. “Why are you admitting it? Everyone was suspecting Angie-san, you could have gotten away with it and just kept your mouth shut!”

Harukawa regards her for a moment. And then, the stoic but caring protector he knows turns into the damaged teenager she is, and lets out a wailing, despair-filled sob. 

“Because Killing someone felt so fucking awful," she heaves.

Her cries echo around the room, and no one moves. They just watch, like it’s a car wreck they can’t look away from even if it hurts to see. 

After a few achingly long moments, her sobs calm just enough to let her hoarse voice make a request.

“Hey, Saihara-kun? Can you do what you did in the last case? Wrap the whole thing up and prove it was me? I know...you might feel like I betrayed you too, but I really meant it when I called you a friend, and I meant when I said you’d find people worthy of your trust...I guess that person just wasn’t me. But, for everyone’s sake, please, end this.”

His chest is squeezing in, putting pressure on his heart and stealing the air from his lungs. But, no matter the tangled web of his own thoughts and feelings right now, there’s nothing he can do but comply with her wish. 

“The events of this case started with Monokuma’s motive. Three days ago, secrets belonging to everyone in this academy were handed out to other students...presumably at random, since there’s no pattern anyone has noticed. We all agreed to keep these secrets to ourselves, but that didn’t stop some people wanting to know what was in theirs.”

It looks like this motive has come and gone without him ever finding out his own secret. Someone in this crowd still knows it, but he has no idea who. 

“Yesterday morning, the victim put a plan into action. He wrote a note asking Angie-san, whose secret he had, to meet him at three a.m. What he didn’t know is that Angie-san never received this note, but instead it was intercepted by the culprit. Presuming his plan was going smoothly, the victim spent the day as normal, helping us all set up for the picnic we were planning that evening and attended it.”

He hadn’t noticed anything off about Momota that day, not until the very end— his early departure, sure, but he’d chalked that up to the strange cough he seemed to be suffering from. 

“The victim left the picnic at the same time as many others. Usually, he would stay in the courtyard and work out with a few other people, including myself...and the culprit, but he claimed not to be feeling up to it. The victim claimed he was going to the kitchen to get some water, but in actuality he picked up a knife...one he was planning to use later. After that, the victim returned to his dorm room until the meeting time he’d designated.”

Had Momota slept at all, or had he sat there and waited, plotting...or, if Saihara was more hopeful, reconsidering? He doesn’t know exactly what Momota was thinking, he never will. But...hope has never been Saihara’s strong suit. 

“At roughly three a.m, the victim left his room and headed to the spot that he’d written in his note, the area outside the dining hall’s courtyard entrance. Soon after, the culprit did the same. The culprit tried to talk to the victim, but he swang at them with the knife he was carrying. Luckily for the culprit, the victim was held back by a sudden coughing fit, giving them a moment to either escape...or strike back. The culprit chose the latter, picking up a nearby sharp metal lid that was left there after the picnic, and used that to cause the killing wound.” 

If they’d just cleaned up, then the culprit wouldn’t have had access to their weapon. Maybe no one would have died, or maybe they would have died in the victim's place. Such a small convenient coincidence had made this case possible— it’s almost funny. 

“Once the victim was dead, the culprit set out to try and cover up the details of the crime— likely as, if the note was revealed, then the time and place of the murder would point in the direction of the notes intended recipient, whom the culprit was trying to protect. The culprit used a pair of bobby pins to open the locked door to the dining hall— though it’s against the rules for them to enter it, opening the door and moving the body there was allowed. I can’t confirm whether the culprit knew this for a fact or just didn’t consider the details of the rules due to the situation, but either way they threw the knife the culprit brought to the scene into the dining hall and pushed the body in as well— but the victims jacket snagged on a nail, leaving behind some fibres.”

If they hadn’t confirmed the dining hall rule they’d taken such a risk in doing what they’d done. He’d never really considered them the risky type, but he’d never considered them the type to murder either.

“Once the body had been moved, the culprit used a hose to clean up the patio, but they missed some spots, which helped us uncover the real location of the crime. They also cleaned the weapon they used using a bottle of water, likely as the hose was needlessly strong for such a small weapon. They threw these two items in the bin, as well as some broken parts of their makeshift lockpicks. Finally, the culprit took the secret they must have taken from the victims body before moving it and burned it in the dwindling flames of the barbecue. They couldn’t relight it, due to the lighter being broken, but they still managed to destroy most of it, leaving only a scrap with a single letter, and finally they left the scene.” 

His next words do not fill him with a sense of pride the way they had in the first trial. They are a formality...a formality part of him does not want to say, and that a smaller part of him is mad are not entirely from his own deductions.

“The culprit of this case is you, Harukawa Maki.”

In the wake of his speech, there are only quiet cries. He does not know if they are still coming from Harukawa, or maybe Angie, or someone else. 

He’s part of the reason for their tears. 

They probably hate him, whoever they are.

He hates himself. 

Maybe the sense of pride from the last trial was better, as disturbing as it was. 

He tugs at his hair in place of his hat. 

No one speaks, no one, except for  _ him _ .

“Upupupu! The despair, this is what the class trial is all about. Despair induced by the most painful of truths. Isn’t it wonderful?” 

“No,” he says. 

~~_ ‘Yes’ _ , he thinks.  ~~

“I hate to interrupt such a wonderful sight, but this class trial isn’t over yet. The show must go on, as they say. So….Iiiiiit’s voting time!” 

The screens in their podiums light up, showing all their faces. Idabashi, Hoshi, and Momota are crossed out. When—  _ if—  _ another trial happens, Harukawa will be too. 

He logs in his vote, only looking at the screen from the corner of his eye. 

“Who’ll be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice? Or the dreadfully wrong one?”

VERDICT: 

HARUKAWA MAKI

“Right once again! The blackened is none other than Harukawa Maki,” Monokuma tells them. “Maybe you boring kids aren’t so useless after all. Then again, her confession made things way too easy. I wonder if you could have even solved it all on your own?”

They try to ignore Monokuma. Instead, turning their attention to Harukawa. Her tears have dried now. If he didn’t see it himself, he would think they’d never been there at all. 

No one really knows what to say. The knowledge of what’s to come hangs heavy in their air. 

Surprisingly, It’s Angie who breaks the silence. 

“W-why?” She asks. Her shoulders are shaking, her eyes scrunched closed, her hands balled into fists. “Why did you do it? You could have just let Angie go. Or you could have ran away. Or let Angie take the fall and escape...so, why?” 

Harukawa looks at her. The sadness in her eyes is not fresh and burning like it was moments ago. This sadness is soft, resigned, and bittersweet. 

Her voice is quiet but steady as she says “Because I couldn’t protect the last person I...felt this way for…”

Angie’s eyes snap open. “H— Harukawa-san?” 

Monokuma’s voice cuts through whatever she was about to say.

“And now, for the main event. It’s punishment time, and I have prepared a very special punishment for Harukawa Maki!” 

“No!” Angie screams, louder than he has ever heard her. 

But Harukawa is dragged away.

**LITTLE MATCHSTICK GIRL: ALL GROWN UP**

Harukawa appears on the screen inside a nondescript building. It’s little more than a plain, wood-panelled corridor, lined with doors. Somewhere in the building, someone is crying faintly. 

Harukawa starts to run, searching for the source of the noise. 

Behind her, a fire starts.

Harukawa runs through the corridor, throwing open all the doors she passes only to find empty rooms. The fire chases after her fast, the wood catching alight easily and filling the area with thick, black smoke. 

She throws the last door in the corridor open, revealing a staircase heading up to what must be a second floor. Without hesitation, she hurries up it, pulling her shirt over her nose and mouth to try and keep the smoke out. 

The cries grow a little louder. The fire roars in tandem with it as it chases Harukawa up the stairs. 

The fire consumes this corridor even quicker than the last. Wooden beams fall in front of Harukawa’s feet and flames lick at her skin, burning any exposed flesh it can find, but she keeps running, checking every room until throwing herself up another staircase already set alight. 

The third floor only has one door, right at the other end, and Harukawa forces her way towards it as this floor burns around her as well. She throws the door open and enters the room, only just missing being devoured by the flames.

Inside this room, a small figure stands in the corner, facing the wall. All that is visible of it is its shape, the rest of the body hidden by a long, hooded coat. 

Harukawa seems half-dead as she practically crawls towards it, clutching it by the arm and turning it to face her. Underneath the hood, a red and white version of Monokuma grins— in its arms, the bomb it’s holding reaches zero. 

The monokuma, the building, and Harukawa Maki are blown to pieces. 

The screen goes black.

It does not feel like ecstasy, it feels like a festering wound, it leaves him bludgeoned and bleeding and rotten....

~~ This is the feeling we love so much? ~~

No, this.....

In its own way, it’s still exhilarating.

But god it hurts

It should hurt. he deserves to hurt for these thoughts he can’t escape...even in the wake of the death of someone he considered a friend...he can’t just mourn...

Who is he? How is he supposed to feel? why is it all so complicated? Why is something so wrong with him that he can’t even...was he born this way? Did something make him this way?

He just wants...what does he….

Harukawa’s skin, blood, guts, infect every crevice of his memory.

He throws up on the ground.

In a few hours, it will probably haunt him how embarrassing that is. Right now, he’s already haunted.

Someone shouts his name. He barely hears it. 

He doesn’t know how long it takes him to get himself together. By the time he does, most of the group look like they’re more than ready to escape the trial room. Chabashira is hovering by one side of him, Yumeno the other. Ouma and Gokuhara are talking to Angie, too quiet for Saihara to catch. 

Some people start to inch towards the elevator, only for Monokuma to start yelling. 

“Hey, where do you bastards think you’re going?”

“Uh, out of here, obviously,” Iruma says. 

“You’re not going anywhere!” 

“Why not? Isn’t the trial over?” Amami sighs. 

“Not until I say it is! There is still one very important thing I have to say!” 

Chabashira snorts derisively. “Nothing you say is important.”

Monokuma ignores her. “That very important matter is, of course, Momota Kaito’s secret!”

“What?”

“You can’t just go revealing that!” 

“What gives you the right?” 

“Oh, come on, don’t you all want to know what was so important to him that he was willing to kill over?” Monokuma tries to tempt them. 

“If it was so important that he was willing to die to keep it a secret then allowing it to stay that way is the least we can do for him,” Shinguuji says. 

Monokuma sulks. “Oh, so none of you want to want to know? not even the teensiest bit?”

A part of Saihara  _ does  _ want to know. The gap in his knowledge is an annoyance. There’s another unanswered mystery about Momota too...the reason he was coughing up blood, and why he’d never mentioned it to anyone…

But it’s not worth it, not if the price he pays is just making everything worse. 

He thinks for a moment that maybe Monokuma will really let them go, that he won’t say anything more and they can all leave this trial room. 

He should know by now to not expect anything like that. 

“Well, even if none of you want to know, I know there’s some people who are probably on the edge of their seats right now, and a good mascot won’t let them down.” 

“What do you mean ‘some people’?” Ouma asks with narrowed eyes. “Who exactly is there but us?” 

“...You…” Akamatsu suddenly mutters, but doesn’t voice the rest of her thought, instead pulling back from the crowd.

“Quiet!” Monokuma roars. “Now, which one of you has Momota’s secret?” 

Hesitantly, Toujou brings out a piece of paper.

Oh, so that’s why she had suddenly wanted to investigate Momota’s dorm room earlier. 

The bear scrambles out of his seat and snatches it from her. Then, he pulls a pair of glasses out of seemingly nowhere, plops them on his snout, and starts to read in aloud, though clearly he’s adding his own commentary here and there. 

“Momota Kaito has a secret, and his secret is this: This strong, brave, handsome—“

(“This seems excessive”, someone whispers.)

“— idiotic, angry young man...suffers from chronic bronchitis!”

A wave of confusion rolls through the room. Ouma pushes his way to the front of the group. 

“He was willing to kill for that?” He sounds sceptical. “Or are you lying to us?”

“He was a ticking time bomb,” is what Akamatsu says. “You may refuse to believe it, but we all are.”

“Akamatsu is right!” Monokuma laughs gleefully. “You’ll all take part in the killing game eventually. Momota held this secret closer to his chest than anything else! He had to be  _ strong _ , you know? Couldn’t let a little illness ruin his image. Not when he knew what would happen at home if he showed even the slightest bit of weakness.” 

Ouma’s skepticism melts away into something else. Saihara doesn’t catch what it though, because it’s gone in a flash and in the next moment they’re herded into the elevator now that Monokuma has rung the last bit of despair he can out of this trial. 

* * *

Saihara takes a walk. He’s not going anywhere, not that there’s anywhere to go. But his room is suffocating him, and he can’t stomach the idea of food so he doesn’t join any of his classmates in the dining hall, so he aimlessly wanders through the halls of the school. 

The trial had taken a few hours, but due to the fact they’d found Momota’s body first thing in the morning, it’s very much still daytime. He misses the comfort of night, but there’s nothing he can do about that. 

Eventually, he sits down on a bench on the third floor, outside Hoshi’s locked bedroom, and loses himself in his thoughts. 

He startles when he hears a footstep. The paranoia tells him it’s someone coming to kill him and his instinct is to reach into his pocket for something only to wonder what he was looking for in the first place. 

Ouma appears at the top of the stairs, and Saihara calms ever so slightly as the other boy skips towards him. He doesn’t  _ look  _ like he's about to kill him. 

Ouma plops down next to him and gives him a wave. 

“Hi, Saihara-chan.” 

“Ouma-kun.” He nods in greeting. 

“What are you doing over here all on your lonesome?” 

Saihara shrugs. “Just thinking, I guess.” 

Ouma hums, clasping his hands together, then says. “Are you thinking about what Harukawa-san said? You know, before the whole...kaboom.” 

“‘What Harukawa-san said?’” He repeats. 

“Y’know, about how you probably feel like she betrayed you and all that stuff?” Ouma clarifies.

Saihara actually hadn’t thought much about that. So much had happened in the trial that it had slipped his mind, but thinking on it now he knows what he wants to say. 

“I don’t feel like she betrayed me. I mean, I wish what had happened hadn’t happened. Harukawa-san and even Momota-kun...they both actually helped me a lot the past few days, and I wish it could have been different. But...she did it to protect someone. It wasn’t about me, or Momota-kun, or even herself. No matter how I look at it, I can’t be mad about it.” 

Ouma says nothing, just hums acknowledgement. 

“I guess you probably feel differently, huh?” Saihara asks. 

Ouma startles, like he’d forgotten Saihara was there at all. “Huh?” 

Ouma is sitting on the bench in an impractical manner— he’s sat sideways, back leaning against the arm rest instead of the backrest and his legs taking up the rest of the bench. Sat like this, Saihara can’t see his face, and maybe that’s what gives him the confidence to do what he’s about to do. 

First, he mimics Ouma’s position so that their backs are resting against eachother. Then, he retrieves the item he’d pocketed before he left his dorm room again. 

“I had it the whole time. I don’t really know if I should do this, but since people are already dead and the mastermind is probably already preparing the next motive, I guess it’s okay. Besides, you wanted to share them, right? So—“ He cuts off his rambling, a flush rising to his cheeks, and just hands over the piece of paper. 

The paper crinkles as it’s unfolded, then there’s silence. He thinks maybe, for a moment, he feels the other boy stiffen against his back, but he could have just as easily imagined it. 

“I can’t return the favour, you know?” Ouma says, folding the secret back up and putting it in his own pocket. “I really didn’t get yours. I’m sure the one I thought up at the trial was totally accurate, though!” 

Saihara breathes a slight laugh. “It’s okay. I wasn’t even thinking of trading when I gave it to you, and multiple incidents at the trial confirmed it wasn’t a one to one switch. I just...if I’m honest, I can’t figure out your secret, like at all. I was hoping maybe you could explain it.” 

Ouma hops to his feet in a smooth motion, now standing on the ground with a mysterious smile on his face. 

“What can I say? I’m a difficult guy to understand.” He shrugs, grin firmly in place. “I have some things I need to care of. Look after yourself, Saihara-chan.” 

He walks away, leaving Saihara alone and just as confused as before. 

* * *

Shirogane Tsumugi manges the camera feeds with great care. She’d managed to sneak off after the trial, since a lot of the participants had done their own thing anyway. 

She thinks this trial went okay. Once again, she’d lost some people she’d hoped were going to make it further, but with their characters so different who dies when doesn’t matter, as long as the people who keep living aren’t too boring (not that they aren’t already, without their talents). She also had to bend the rules a little, letting Harukawa open that door without the alarm going off— under normal circumstances, it would have, but she needed a murder, and the rule had enough wiggle room that the audience can’t call unfairness. Besides, there really is no reason for the dining hall to be off-limits at night, but it was one of Enoshima Junko’s rules, so it kind of became a mainstay of the series.

Since this trial started and therefore ended much earlier in the day than the first one the participants can’t escape their emotions with the tempting cradle of sleep. Well, they can try, but they don’t have exhaustion on their side to make it easy. 

She keeps her eye on Angie’s pathetic frame for a while, but even with the despair radiating off of her it’s just so boring— she isn’t freaking out, or even crying. She’s just sat against the wall of her dorm room, legs curled up against her torso, impassive and unmoving. The girl is shell-shocked , and who knows how long it will take her to start being even potentially entertaining anymore. 

Bored of Angie, Shirogane focuses on Saihara. Their “protagonist” is skulking around the school corridors on his own, eventually settling on a bench on the third floor. She leans in, hoping to catch the expressions on his face, but someone else comes skipping along and ruins the shot. 

“Hi, Saihara-chan!” 

“Ouma-kun.” 

She leans back, a little less invested than before— sure, before rewrites were forced on her Ouma and Saihara had had a flicker of a relationship, if there was one things Danganronpa fans loved more than death and hope and despair it was the potential of a relationship between the protagonist and antagonist. But Ouma’s not exactly filling the antagonist role anymore, even if he is still an annoyance. 

She supposes he’s kind of filling the deuteragonist role now instead, which is always a pretty popular ship too….yes! this can work! 

With renewed interest she leans in again, just in time to spot a flash of writing on a piece of paper. 

Wait….was that? 

She rewinds the footage, having to do so a few times before stopping on the right moment. 

That is Ouma’s secret, except….

It shouldn’t….it doesn’t even….but how?

She’d never seen Saihara getting Ouma’s secret, though of course she knew he had because she’s the one who organised it that way. She’d had no reason to think that anything could have went wrong. 

But…

“Ouma Kokichi has a secret, and his secret is this. He hates murder more than anything else in this world.”

The paper, the phrasing, It’s all correct. But...the ever so slightly off handwriting, and the actual content…

It’s undeniably Ouma’s secret, except, it’s not the one she wrote.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so...that's trial two!   
> throughout ch2 i got multiple comments about liking this maki and i ended up liking her a lot too so much i considered changing this case so...lets all just be sad together  
> A long time ago I read an anylysis by someone who isn't me about how Mondo and Kaito are similar to eachother, but whereas Mondo's need to be "a strong man" ends badly for him, it doesn't for Kaito...so, in a lot of ways, I aimed for this case to have some echoes of that one, even though the person in question ended up the victim instead of the culprit...idk how well that came off but hmmm  
> i have a short interlude i'm gonna post next where we get a look at someones pov who isn't saihara or shirogane (one guess who) but for the first time in a while i'm not ahead in chapters so there might be a little longer than usual between then and the start of ch3  
> also, someone is probably yelling that I never revealed Saihara's secret...but don't think that just because the motives over means nothing will happen in that department.


	13. Interlude: one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a short interlude taking place the night after the second trial

Ouma Kokichi walks out of his dorm room in the middle of the night with two secrets in his pocket and a head full of thoughts. His secret...Saihara had told Ouma he doesn't understand it, and in truth Ouma doesn't either. He’s never given much thought to how he feels about murder, as far as he remembers. He didn’t like it, obviously, but that was that. But when he’d found that first dead body, he’d felt it— disgust so strong it overwhelmed him, anger, loss, a need for vengeance. But...why does he feel this way? What’s still missing? Why does this secret feel so right even though he doesn’t understand it? 

He can worry about this later. He’s reached the tables outside the dormitories now, and he has a job to do here.

On the surface, it may look like he’s taking a risk. In truth, he hasn’t taken a risk in a long time. It was dangerous to meet up with that person alone and after dark, but he has all possible escape routes mapped out in his head. He may not be strong, but he’s small and he’s fast, and that’s gotten him out of plenty of sticky situations so far.

Besides, perhaps a risk or two is necessary right now. He’d figured someone would kill eventually, so he’d tried to stop that ever happening. He’d snuck around the ‘school’, trying to find everything he could, but lockpicking wasn’t much use here— except to move bodies, apparently. He’d found some...interesting things, nonetheless, but nothing that could end this ‘game’ just yet. He’d thought maybe the mastermind’s door could, but Akamatsu and Hoshi both fell into their trap and ruined his only lead to their identity.

After that, he tried to keep everyone together, hoping maybe a bond or at least the lack of opportunity would stave off another murder, but turns out it was all for nothing. He should have done better, he had noticed Momota’s attitude, and he could guess it came from some deep insecurity. He saw how protective Harukawa was. All traits that could drive someone to kill. 

But the first secret in his pocket has been consuming his every waking moment— and there were very few moments he wasn’t awake. There were still a few other people he kept an eye on— the ones that seemed most like a risk— but for the most part he was keeping an eye on someone specific, and when they were asleep he sat and he plotted and he mapped out all the possibilities. 

But to narrow it down, he needs to see how they react to what he’s about to show them. He’d tested the waters, but now he’s going scuba-diving. 

He sees them as they sneak out of the dorms, looking relaxed even though meeting someone in the middle of the night was exactly what got Momota killed. 

“You wanted to meet with me?” They say in lieu of a greeting.

“Sure did! Take a seat.”

They take a seat the other side of the table from him. Ouma kind of feels like he’s hosting a business meeting, or maybe a parent teacher conference- he’s never experienced either of those things, but that’s not the point. 

Their posture is relaxed, but the quirk of their eyebrow reveals their curiosity. As far as he can tell, they’re not carrying any weapons. 

“Amami-chan, how have you been?” He asks, forcing casualness with every syllable. 

“I woke up one day with no memory in a killing game, and four people are dead. How do you think I’ve been?” 

“Are you suggesting you’re not a fan of killing games?” The corner of Ouma’s mouth twitches up into a knowing smile. That should get his attention. 

“Of course I’m not a fan of killing games.” Darkness takes over Amami’s face. Ouma keeps his mask firmly in place. 

“Oh, really?” Ouma blinks innocently as he reaches into his pocket. “It’s just...a little birdie told me you might be.” 

He places the piece of paper he’d retrieved from his pocket onto the table and slides it across for Amami to see, though he doesn’t let go of it.

He can see the emotions flicker over Amami’s face as he reads it- confusion, shock, fear.

And the moment the words hit home. 

The words Ouma hasn’t been able to stop thinking about:

“This isn’t Amami Rantarou’s first killing game.”

He gives Amami a moment of silence, but it gets boring quickly, driving him to tap his fingers against the table and kick his legs under the seat until Amami catches on to his restlessness. 

“Why did you give this to me?” Amami asks, measured. 

“I mean, for a while I wasn’t going to. The implications weren’t great. But...if you were the mastermind, I figure you wouldn’t deliberately put something in that would point to your identity so easily.” 

“It certainly would be a strange choice for a mastermind to make.” He nods.

“So, presuming I didn’t just make a huge mistake and you’re not the mastermind, what does this mean?” 

“Why are you asking me? I’m still an amnesiac.”

“Which is very suspicious.” 

“Can’t argue with that.” 

“Being in a previous killing game...seems like a pretty good reason for the mastermind to remove your memory. Unless, of course, this secret is a lie…” 

Amami laughs dryly. “As crazy as it sounds, I don’t think it is. Ever since Monokuma explained our situation...I’m so tired, Ouma-kun. But, nothing about this situation has shocked me. Like…” 

“It’s all happened before?” 

“Yeah. Like it’s been going on for so long that I can’t even hope for it to stop anymore.” 

“So, you don’t want to end this?” 

“I never said that. I want it to. I just don’t know if it ever will.” 

“Well, Amami-chan, it looks like there are some things we should talk about.” 

He shakes his head. “I don’t remember anything. Whatever happened before is locked away with the rest of my memories. I can’t tell you anything about this previous killing game I was in.” 

“That doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it.” 

“I don’t really know what you’re getting at.” 

“Honestly? Me neither. But it beats doing nothing.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But...Ouma-kun? Can we keep this between us.” 

He was expecting this, of course. It was another thing that he’d had to weigh when deciding whether to tell Amami about the secret or not. He’d come to the conclusion that the mastermind must be okay with them knowing this, since they put it in the game, but also that it was a motive...a motive that could have easily ended in Amami’s death if someone who wasn’t willing to think it through as much as he was had been handed it. 

He doesn’t mind keeping secrets. It’s not lying, provided he never claims the opposite of the secret, or that he’s not keeping secrets at all. He doesn’t like lying much, but keeping secrets and hiding behind jokes aren’t lies, they’re just part of life.

“I guess we’re both gonna have to stay mysterious guys for a little longer, Amami-chan.” He smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long!! it's been a heck of a week, thank you for ur patience!!


	14. chapter three: a girl with pride, a girl who died - daily life (part one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the wait on this one...rip. university do be kicking my ass.  
> this chapter is on the short side, but it was either this or a monster chapter with an even longer wait time.  
> tw: suicidal imagery (doesn't actually happen, just imagined), hallucinations.

Saihara wakes up in a memory; the morning after the last class trial, Momota had appeared at his door, along with Ouma, inviting him to the dining hall to discuss the then new motive. 

He glances around his room, a tense anticipation building, but finds nothing that looks like a motive and slowly allows himself to relax again— well, relax is a generous term. 

Momota would not ring his doorbell this morning, or ever again. Harukawa would not emerge from Angie’s dorm in the mornings ever again. 

Saihara takes a shower. 

After towelling dry and putting on a clean school uniform for the day, he prepares to make the walk to the dining hall alone this morning...which is why he’s mildly surprised when he opens his door to find a figure leaning against the frame.

“Good morning, Saihara-chan!”

He blinks, but quickly collects himself. “Good morning, Ouma-kun.”

“Heading to the dining hall?” Ouma asks, already starting to walk. 

Saihara falls into step with him. “Guess so. It’s what we do every morning.” 

There’s a lot unspoken in that statement— the fact that they’ve already formed a routine in this ‘academy’, the fact that an unaccounted absence from the dining hall would no doubt cause panic, the fact that last time he’d headed into that dining hall he’d found a dead body, but even so no one is willing to shake the shallow routine they cling to just to keep their sanity a little more in check.

The bloodstain on the dining hall patio is completely gone now. It’s unsurprising. He hasn’t been back to the library since Idabashi’s death, but he’d heard from those who had that the body, the blood, any sign that anything had ever happened in that library, had been cleaned away.

Even knowing this, he half expects to see a body when he opens the door. But, just like last time, it's gone. If it wasn’t for his own memories (not that those are the most trustworthy things) he wouldn’t have a clue that it had ever been here. 

Almost everyone is already in the dining hall, but most of them don’t look too comfortable. He’s not really surprised by those who do— Akamatsu, sipping her coffee like nothing is wrong, Amami, staring off into space, Shinguuji, stirring a cup of oddly coloured tea. Those three seem fine, but no one else. He’s kind of surprised about Shirogane’s bowed head, considering her and Akamatsu and Amami are, for whatever reason, attached at the hip. Either she’s a better person than he thought, or a better actor. 

He skips over getting anything to eat. He just isn’t hungry. He ends up sitting across from Yumeno again, who shoots him a cheerful smile, though it’s clearly one she struggles to muster up. 

He’s not the only one without a plate, saving him the awkwardness he would feel at being the only one not eating. Yumeno picks at her bowl of fruit, next to her Chabashira struggles to finish the second half of her….is she eating hotpot for breakfast? Okay then. Gokuhara is eating a surprisingly small portion of boiled eggs for his size. Akamatsu eats toast without a care in the world, and Iruma is devouring a plate of pastries piled so high it can be considered just as much of a problem as not eating at all. Everyone else either never got food to start with or finished and cleaned up after themselves before he arrived. 

But without food, there’s nothing to distract him. His eyes keep flickering over to where Momota’s corpse lay, as if they’re being controlled by something outside himself. Like he’s a doll, or a puppet, a cheap plaything being yanked around by someone or something he can’t even see. Saihara Shuichi: his eyes really move! now just $29.99. Every time he looks at that spot, it’s like he can still see the sprawled silhouette and the small splatter of blood. The remains of his kind-of-almost friend are both gone and not gone at the same time, and fuck Schrödinger and his cat for being the overused metaphor they are, but he can’t think of another one. 

It’s not like these hallucinations are haunting him. He doesn’t feel terror-stricken or engulfed with grief...but it’s annoying. Isn't death supposed to be final? A last firework before the fuse of life is extinguished? What right to the dead have to leave ashes on the ground, reminding him they were once there, reminding him that he doesn’t feel the things he’s supposed to feel when a kind-of-almost friend dies. Is that what will become of him too? A fleck of ash in a dining hall he can no longer visit, lodging itself in the heads of whoever out-lives him? Where’s the finality? What’s the point of it all? It’s not what he imagined it would be. 

He blinks. 

Momota’s body is gone. 

When had he imagined death so much to develop concrete thoughts on what he thinks it should mean? 

He blinks. 

Harukawa is standing at the edge of the dining hall, gazing remorsefully at Momota’s corpse.

He doesn’t want to think about Harukawa. The strings of her puppet are a tangled mess in his heart. He doesn’t have the space or time to dwell on her death. It’s too confusing, too much. 

He blinks. 

And tears his eyes away from that spot, taking a moment to readjust to the real and present world that surrounds him.

The last few stragglers trailed into the dining hall while he was distracted, taking up almost every seat in the room, except for one…

“Has anyone seen Angie-san?” Gokuhara asks. 

No one says yes. 

“She is likely still recovering from yesterday,” Shinguuji says. “It must have been particularly hard on her.” 

If anything haunts him, it’s the sound of her cries from the trial. They were visceral and real in a way death doesn’t seem to be. Like everything else, he can’t exactly pinpoint how they make him feel, but regardless they do not leave him alone. 

No one seems to know how to move forward from that statement. They were all there for the trial. They saw it happen, they fought for the result that led to Harukawa’s execution and Angie’s suffering. 

“Should I go talk to her?” Gokuhara asks the room at large. 

Gokuhara probably understands how she’s feeling better than anyone. Hoshi’s execution had been hard on him, not dissimilar to Angie’s own situation. Hoshi had been close to Shinguuji too, but they seemed to have handled the loss with more ease than their friend, at least on the outside. Harukawa...a lot of people had considered her a friend. She’d quickly established herself as someone reliable and caring, if a little pragmatic and closed off when it came to her own problems. But no one was as close to her as Angie was, no one needed her the way Angie did. 

Angie was...damaged, even before this. That much had been obvious from the moment they woke up here. Her trauma and anxiety were painted in neon, becoming more and more glaring in everything she did. Angie Yonaga— Caution: fragile. Honestly, he wonders if she can even handle the events of yesterday, or if… 

“Look for her later. We don’t need a body discovery announcement interrupting breakfast,” Akamatsu says, feigning a casualness as if she doesn’t know the affect her words will have.

Said effect comes in waves. Confusion, realisation, panic. The waves are uneven, washing over each individual at different times, but in the end they all reach the same conclusion. 

“Are you suggesting that someone hurt Angie-san?” Gokuhara asks hesitantly. He likely understands the real implication of Akamatsu’s statement, but he doesn’t want to face it. 

“You don’t think she really would—“ Chabashira cuts herself off, swallowing grimly.

“You can’t just go saying shit like that!” Iruma snaps. “Unless you know something we don’t, shut your mouth.” 

“I don’t know anything,” Akamatsu says calmly. “I’m just being realistic.” 

“You shouldn’t say such things without evidence,” Toujou states. 

“Yeah!” Yumeno defends passionately. “Angie-san is just fine! She has to be!” 

“Gokuhara-kun, Tenko will come look for her with you,” Chabashira says. “Then we can talk to her and calm everyone down.” 

Despite offering, she looks a little uneasy at going alone with a man she doesn’t trust.

“I’ll go with you!” Yumeno says quickly. She seems a little nervous, but her words are confident. “If Angie-san is sad, then I’m gonna cheer her up!”

There’s a thrumming under Saihara’s skin. He would not say it aloud, but he’d come to the same conclusion as Akamatsu (he’d ask what that says about him, but he doesn’t want to know). Flickers of imaginary Angies blind him— blood pooling out of wrists, body hanging from a bedsheet noose, suffocated by her own body and a handful of pills. 

“I’ll come with you too, if that’s okay,” he says. 

He hopes she’s not dead (and he repeats this in his brain over and over, trying to convince that part of him that  _ does _ ). But if she is, he has to see. If she isn’t...in a lot of ways, that’s the harder path, for both of them. 

Yumeno shoots him a smile, Gokuhara pats him on the back (surprisingly gentle), and Chabashira gives him a cursory nod. All wordless expressions that they don’t mind him tagging along— at least, he thinks that’s what they are, it would be mortifying if he was reading it wrong. 

Of course, as soon as they have a plan,  _ someone  _ has to show up and interrupt them. 

“Hey! Where do you bastards think you’re going?” Monokuma grumbles from the head of the table. 

Chabashira blinks, derision clear on every inch of her face. “To see Angie-san.” 

“Nuh-uh you’re not! No leaving the table until you’ve received your gifts and eaten your vegetables.”

Oh, right. Another murder, another set of areas opened, just like last time. Looks like Monokuma is keeping to this pattern. How big is this school going to be when construction actually finishes? Is there enough new areas to last until all but two of them are dead? And what happens after that?

“Here you go!” Monokuma says, suddenly cheery. “A gold hammer, a magic key, and a ninja scroll!”

Said items land on the table with an underwhelming clatter. 

“What do we do now?” Gokuhara bites his nail. “I still want to go talk to Angie-san but...exploring the school is important too.” 

“It would be best to explore in teams again,” Shinguuji says. “Perhaps we should organise those first?” 

“There’s twelve of us and three items, so three teams of four makes the most sense.” Amami nods. 

Saihara becomes aware of two things in that moment: the first being that there’s only twelve of them left, and the second being that Amami seems even more detached than usual this morning. 

“But Angie-san isn’t here,” Shirogane points out.

Amami blinks, only now seeming to realise this despite the fact they had been talking about it for the past few minutes.

“Well, I guess until we find her that’s two teams of four and one of three then.” 

“Does this mean we’re already a team?” Yumeno whispers to Chabashira. “There are four of us.” 

Chabashira pauses, glancing sideways at Gokuhara. Saihara feels a flush of happiness at the fact she doesn’t seem to need to evaluate him. In the end, Chabashira nods and tells Yumeno that’s fine. If she can place her trust in Saihara and Ouma, then it’s not too surprising that she’s willing to try with Gokuhara too— thinking on it, he probably should have been top of the list, way before himself. 

Yumeno announces that they’re a team to the rest of the group, leaving everyone else to sort out the remaining two teams between them. 

It’s a given that Akamatsu, Amami, and Shirogane band together. Iruma and Toujou silently pair up as well. This leaves Shinguuji, whose usual go-to partner Gokuhara is already spoken for, and Ouma, who seems to attach himself to people at random before flitting off again.

And who Saihara kind of wishes was exploring with him, though he’s not sure where the thought comes from. 

“Well.” Ouma grins, putting his hands behind his head. “As super fun as it was exploring with Akamatsu-chan last time, I think the creepy threesome can stick to three for now.”

“Kukuku...I am inclined to agree.” Shinguuji nods sagely.

“Well who says me and Toujou-san want you two hanging around us?” Iruma counters. 

“But just think! If we’re with you, that means you two won’t have to worry about actually putting in any effort to find stuff.” Ouma says, eyes almost sparkling.

This doesn’t seem to placate Iruma, instead having the exact opposite effect; her tone goes from casual annoyance to a sudden explosion of anger. “Hey, I’m perfectly fucking capable of discovering clues and shit!” 

Saihara has no idea why his teasing statement seemed to have such a strong effect on her. Iruma is...generally abrasive, sure, but the only time he’s seen her this worked up is when she’s talking to Akamatsu. 

Ouma blinks, wide-eyed for a moment, then his face falls into a thoughtful expression. He opens his mouth, but whatever he is going to say next as Shinguuji takes over the conversation. 

“So, that’s one team of myself, Ouma-kun, Iruma-san and Toujou-san. Saihara-kun, Gokuhara-kun, Chabashira-san and Yumeno-san make up the other team of four. This leaves Shirogane-san, Akamatsu-san and Amami-kun as a team of three, with Angie-san currently unaccounted for.” 

“That leaves dividing up the objects,” Shirogane says. “I’ll take the hammer.” 

“I’ll take the key,” Iruma quickly announces, picking up the pixelated looking item. 

“Guess that leaves us with the ninja scroll.” Gokuhara nods. Shinguuji hands him the scroll with a smile in their eyes. “We’re gonna go check on Angie still, but we will find where the scroll goes straight after!” 

With that, they finally leave the room. The other teams split off to find where their ‘mysterious items’ belong. 

The walk to the dorms is tense, and the person Saihara is would normally take it in silence, but he’s never been like other people. 

“When I get out of here I wanna get a pet lizard,” Yumeno says out of nowhere. 

“Oh, that’s such a good idea!” Gokuhara smiles. “We aren’t allowed pets at the children’s home, but I’ve always liked dogs. I think I’d like to get one someday. Or maybe a whole pack!” 

“You should name one of them Pancake,” Yumeno says thoughtfully. “Tenko! What about you?” 

Chabashira blushes under Yumeno’s attention despite the fact they are together almost all-day everyday. “Uh, well….Tenko thinks...Tenko hasn’t really thought about it before? Looking after a pet is a lot of work.” 

“That’s okay! You can look after my lizard with me. If we both do it, then it won’t be as difficult, right?” 

Chabashira smiles, hopeful and nervous all at once. “Th-that sounds really nice, Yumeno-san.” 

“You can call me Himiko, you know? You don’t have to feel weird about it just because of what Iruma-san said at the trial.” She kicks a stray pebble on the path. 

Chabashira winces. “Tenko is sorry...she just…” 

“I know. It’s okay,” Yumeno’s tone is warm and reassuring. “But if you want to talk about it later, then just let me know.” 

Chabashira nods gratefully, and a silence falls for a moment, before Gokuhara thoughtfully asks if it’s okay to name a dog pancake when they don’t eat pancakes and easy conversation starts up all over again. 

It’s only when they’re at the entrance to the dormitories does Saihara realise that he’d forgotten to be nervous on the walk over there.

For once, Saihara had been calmed by the presence of other people rather than it being the cause for his nerves. 

Angie’s 8-bit face stares at them from above her door. He hesitates now, worried about what they’ll find on the other side. 

Gokuhara brushes past him and rings the doorbell. 

The seconds beat away as they wait for a response, but it never comes. 

Chabashira rings the doorbell again, but nothing changes. 

For a moment, Saihara remembers standing in this room days that feel like years ago, pounding Akamatsu’s doorbell with desperation pushing him forward. 

She had been out attempting murder, and he had been an idiot. 

He rings Angie’s doorbell. This is different. He knows it is. He is trying to trust, and that’s pushing him forward. 

Still, there isn’t even a creak from the other side of the door. 

“What do we do now?” Gokuhara frowns. 

Yumeno marches up to the door and gently knocks. “Um, Angie-san? Monokuma gave us new things to explore the school with. We’d really like it if you came with us.”

“You’re going through a lot right now,” Gokuhara aims his words at the door, looking almost shy. “But we want to help.” 

“She isn’t answering,” Chabashira murmurs. “And the door is locked.” 

Gokuhara’s large frame slumps against the wall. “I don’t know what to do...I want to think positively but…” 

They all know what he’s thinking. Akamatsu’s words linger in their heads, like they always tend to. 

“Maybe we can ask Monokuma to open the door?” Chabashira says, but she doesn’t sound happy about it. “But we shouldn’t invade her privacy like that, right? Especially with two men here.”

If Ouma was here, he could have picked the lock like he had for Momota’s room. But Momota’s room was empty, and they’d known that when they’d broken in. No one knows what’s on the other side of that door. They need to know.  _ He  _ needs to know. But, if Angie is in there unharmed and grieving, who knows them breaking in might affect her state of mind?

It’s a dilemma. A dilemma made worse by the irritating bear approaching them. 

“Are you looking for Miss Yonaga?” He asks, cocking his head in faux-innocence. 

“Yes,” Gokuhara states, matter-of-fact. 

“And I suppose you’re wondering if I can use my powers as the headmaster to open this door?” 

“I suppose”, he says, about the exact thing they’d just been talking about. Obviously, they’re being watched, Monokuma couldn’t conveniently show up at the exact moments they need to speak to him if not. Not to mention making sure they don’t break the ‘school’ rules and knowing the ins and outs of the murders that have occurred. The only hole in that logic is Saihara has no idea  _ how  _ they’re being watched. There are no cameras that he can see, and though the bear would probably claim the opposite if asked, the thing can’t be omniscient. Maybe he should do a deeper investigation, now that there’s new areas open.

They all hesitate, still undecided on if they should barge their way into Angie’s room. It doesn’t really matter in the end, since Monokuma doesn’t wait for a response.

“Well too bad! While I  _ can  _ unlock any room in this academy, I  _ don’t  _ use my powers to let students peep on their classmates. Well, there are some events just for that...but that privilege requires luck and cold, hard monocoins.” 

“We’re not going to  _ peep _ ,” Tenko seethes. “We just want to check she’s okay.” 

“That’s even worse!” Monokuma grumbles. “There is  _ definitely  _ no way I will facilitate some bullcrap mushy-feelings scene.” 

With that, Monokuma leaves, and there’s a collective sigh of relief. Even if he wasn’t the go-between them and the person who had kidnapped them, imprisoned them and forced them into a killing game, talking to him would still be goddamn exhausting. 

“Let’s go explore!” Yumeno pumps her fists in determination. “Then, when Angie-san is ready, we can come back and tell her what we’ve found.” 

“Yumeno-san, Tenko...likes how optimistic you are, but what if she’s…” 

Gone. No more.  _ Dead _ . 

“I don’t think that’s the case,” Saihara says thoughtfully. “If she was dead, wouldn’t Monokuma want us to see that? He can’t have a trial until there’s a body discovery announcement.”

He wonders if he really believes what he says, or if this is what hope is. If this is hope, then it’s a dangerous thing. If he’s wrong, he’ll be looked at like he’s stupid, like he betrayed them with false theories, like it’s all his fault. 

“Saihara-kun is right,” Yumeno insists. “So, let’s go find where this ninja scroll goes, and we’ll tell Angie-san all about it later.” 

Gokuhara is smiling at him, a thankful little thing. It’s both uncomfortable and comforting. 

“Yeah, Angie-san just needs more time. Until she’s ready to talk, let’s help everyone else.”

Chabashira takes a shaky breath but nods, uncertainty turning to a timid decisiveness. “Okay. Let’s go.” 

He doesn’t have the same certainty about the scroll as he did about the dragon’s gem. Still, he has an inkling that he’s seen something, somewhere, that matches up with the item.

There don’t seem to be any suspicious areas in the dormitory— at least, not in the entrance hall or his room, so he heads back out to the courtyard, the others following behind him. 

In the end, it doesn’t take long to find the spot they’re looking for. It’s more luck than anything, since they just happened to check the courtyard first, but Gokuhara is proud of himself as he slides the scroll into the hands of a statue and a building comes up from under the ground.

“Why is nothing in this place normal?” Chabashira sighs. 

Yumeno grins. “That was so cool!”

“I suppose it’s just another example of all the planning and effort that went into this,” Saihara muses. It does concern him...If the mastermind just wanted them to kill each other, why put all this work into the aesthetics and mystery of their prison? Who does it benefit?

“It looks like another bedroom,” Gokuhara observes. “...I think, anyway.” 

The building is unusual, even compared to the rest of their surroundings. While the building containing Iruma’s bedroom just down the path is fairly plain looking from the outside, this building has a traditional type of architecture that isn’t matched by anything else in the area. 

“Should we go in?” Gokuhara continues. “If it doesn’t belong to anyone here, It seems sort of rude to go through someone’s room without permission.” 

“Well...It’s not like they’re our real bedrooms,” Yumeno says. “Just weird copies.” 

“And we can’t even sleep in them,” Chabashira complains.

“We said we’d investigate the area connected to the scroll,” Saihara says eventually. “It would probably be worse if we went back to the others having not investigated than if we did, no matter who this room belongs to.” 

Gokuhara thinks for a moment, then nods. “Let’s go then.” 

As they head towards the doors, Saihara makes a mental list of all the bedrooms they’ve already uncovered: Iruma’s, Akamatsu’s, Yumeno’s, Toujou’s, Gokuhara’s, Harukawa’s— though she’ll never set foot in it again, and Hoshi’s— though he never set foot in at all, nor did anyone else. 

That leaves: Ouma’s, Chabashira’s, Angie’s, Shinguuji’s, Amami’s, Shirogane’s, as well Momota’s and Idabashi’s which will probably remain closed like Hoshi’s, and finally his own.

There’s only a two in nine chance that this room belongs to one of the people present here, but again, luck is apparently on their side, judging by Chabashira’s sharp intake of breath the second they open the door. 

The room feels small at first, but Saihara quickly realises that though it is on the small side compared to some of the others they’ve come across so far, it’s just the dark blue walls making it feel that way. The situation isn’t helped by the fact that although there’s a window, the dark blinds in front of it are pulled firmly shut. 

All the furniture in the room is a dark, nondescript wood, and the bedspread is almost the exact same shade as the walls. All in all, the vibe of this room is…rather gloomy, and that’s if he’s putting it nicely.

If there’s one thing redeeming the space, it’s that it’s a mess. Normally, that wouldn’t be considered a positive, but at least the clutter adds a bit of brightness. The mismatched posters on the wall don’t hurt either, he thinks, moving closer to look at them. 

“Is this from one of those idol anime games or something?” Yumeno teases, picking out one of them with her eyes. 

Saihara moves in to take a closer look. The poster shows a pretty girl with long blue hair in a pink outfit, singing into a microphone. He doesn’t know much about idols, or games about them, but she seems oddly familiar.

“Huh?” Chabashira says from the other side of the room, before coming closer and looking at the poster for herself.

“I...guess so?” She shrugs, scrutinising the poster.

“You guess so?” Gokuhara repeats. “But isn’t this your room?” 

“Well, yeah. But I don’t remember this poster, or the girl in it…It’s probably just Monokuma putting random crap in here.” She scowls. “Which is really freaking creepy of him.”

“Well...it could be something you forgot?” Saihara reminds her. “Maybe It’s one of the gaps in your memory.” 

“But why would I forget a poster?!” She sounds frustrated, which is only emphasised by her glare. “I know we have these gaps in our memory. But what have we actually forgotten? and why?” 

“I— I don’t know,” he admits. “Obviously, there was something, or multiple somethings, the mastermind wanted us to forget, but there just isn’t anything to go on when it comes to what.”

Chabashira runs a hand over her face, radiating exhaustion. “Let’s just...make sure the computer is the same as the other ones and get out of here.

Chabashira’s bedroom comes with a desktop computer, rather than a laptop or phone like the ones previously. Nonetheless It boots up to the same screen/

The screen listing hope, despair, past, future, truth, and lies stares back at him, taunting a meaning that still eludes him but itches the back of his brain until he wants to scratch it raw, blood and brain matter under his fingernails.

“Same as the others,” he notes aloud.

Chabashira sighs. “Well, now we know that, let’s get out of here. This room is making Tenko’s skin crawl. “

“Can we go around the rest of the school? The others might not have finished as quickly as we have, so we may as well,” Yumeno asks. 

“That seems like a good idea!” Gokuhara agrees. “It doesn’t hurt to help everyone cover more ground.” 

Saihara nods, and Chabashira follows without agreeing or disagreeing, so together they shuffle out of the small building and back into the courtyard. .

On the way back to the school, Gokuhara’s attention ends up diverted and he strays from the path. Confused, they follow him. Stopping behind him, Saihara realises Gokuhara has led them to the rock. The one they’d noticed during the picnic. 

At that time, it has displayed a message: 

his

e

now, it displays something new: 

his i t

en t

a

“More letters were added?” Yumeno puzzles.

Gokuhara wavers. “But it still doesn’t make sense, right?”

Saihara runs the message over and over in his head, but despite that he still can’t figure it out. There’s still too many possibilities. He can look at other angles of the mystery, though.

“If it’s been added to, does that mean someone here is adding to it?” He questions.

“It could be Monokuma,” Yumeno suggests.

“Ah, I’m not sure Monokuma is capable of that. Even if his paws could hold a pen, writing this neatly would take a lot of fine motor control. Monokuma is no doubt impressive technology, but even so there’s only so much he can realistically do.” 

“Hmmm.” Yumeno hums. “Well, if not him, then the mastermind?” 

“That’s a possibility,” he agrees.

“But wouldn’t that be risky for them? Tenko would certainly be suspicious if she caught them out here leaving cryptic messages, and she wouldn’t be scared to confront them about it either.” 

“That’s a good point too,” Saihara acknowledges, having been on the same train of thought. “That...leaves two possibilities then, I think.” 

“Uh, elaborate,” Chabashira says flatly.

“I would also appreciate it if you could elaborate,” Gokuhara agrees, more gently. 

“Well, either it’s one of us trapped in this killing game...or there’s a way in and out of this place we don’t know about, and it’s someone else.”

Under normal circumstances, the simplest solution is normally the right one. In this case, the simplest solution is that it’s one of them, while the second solution only raises more questions.

He’s pretty sure it has to be the first one, but then again nothing in this place quite falls under what any relatively sane person would consider “normal circumstances”. 

He adds the writing on the rock to the mental pile of things he doesn’t understand, and heads back inside. 

Time to investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it looks like yesterday was the one year anniversary of when i posted the first chapter so that's cool! rubs in my face how slow i've been at writing this, but still cool!  
> i love y'all, hope you're staying safe as this hellish year draws to a close.  
> validation in comments and kudos? on my fic? hopefully more likely than i think!


End file.
